Assisting the Fallen: The Death of Aang
by Coolera
Summary: Have you ever wondered what it would be like to lose everything? Katara's world was Aang and now he is gone forever taken by the clutches of death... or is he?
1. Love is Strong

**Hey, guys! I had this idea for a while now since Aang dies so young in A:TLK. I just want to ask please don't stop reading after the first chapter. Just read a few more and decide if you like it; don't just judge it form the first chapter, I promise it gets juicy. As always thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy it! PLEASE REVIEW **

**Ps. Kataang all the way; we need more fan fics like this**

Chapter 1: Love is Strong

The breeze was cool as it danced across his face. They had been on the beach for a few hours admiring the sun set. The lowering sun painted the sky stunning hues of reds, yellows and oranges as he smiled to himself. He thought how lucky he was for his life: he had three beautiful children and the women that he loved next to him. When he was with her time was inexistent, the only thing that was real was her. She was prefect in every way, despite the fact she did not believe this. Her hand gently landed on his chest pulling himself out of his thoughts and deeper into his body since the breeze was picking up.

"Are you cold?" he asked softly as he placed his free arm round her.

"No, I'm fine." She said looking affectionately into his gray eyes.

"Are you sure? We could just go inside if you are cold."

"No, I like it here." She said smiling, "being with you gives me all the warmth that a need."

"Good." He said grinning as the final rays of light reflected off the contours of her face. He tilted his head towards his wife staring deeply in her crystal blue eyes. Not a word was spoken but they understood everything. Like a pieces of a puzzle he graciously locked his lips with hers under the new found stars.

Despite their older age, their love has seemed to grow deeper at the pass of every day. Together they had three children: Kya, their first born, is a female water bender named after Katara's deceased mother. She is strong and independent like her mother and became a master waterbender at the age of 18. She now is 32 years old and married to a respectable warrior from the northern water tribe. Soon she had little ones of her own, two beautiful boys; oddly enough they thought that both were water benders, not until Aang discovered Pu-tai's air bending abilities. She helped her father with the construction of the Republic city when she was younger and continues to help him to this day. Their second born, Rinzin, was their first male born and is also a waterbender. He has a playful and optimistic mentality towards everything and is always a kid at heart. He is currently living with the swampbenders tribe located in the infinite earth kingdom rain forest. He is learning like his father and Air Nomads did: traveling and exploring the world. Like his sister, he has helped his father organize and rebuild cities from the war that seems so distant now. Now he is 29 and growing stronger every day. Their final born was a Tenzin, the only air bender out of the three. Aang was relived to find his bending abilities to be air because he needed someone to preserve and protect the air nomads' way of life, but he also did not want to force this on his son. Naturally, Aang was a great teacher so Tenzin learned very quickly. He was a stern young man but contained the same heart as his older brother. Before he became a master air bender, Aang give him the freedom to grow out his hair even though it was against air nomad custom. He allowed this until he received his tattoos signifying him a master of air. Today, Tenzin lives with his parents in the 'Sanctuary' located on a small island across the bay from the Republic city. He became a master airbender when he was 21. Now, He is 24 and is engaged to Pema and is patiently waiting for the wedding.

As darkness seeped over their bodies, neither of them moved and remained in the clutch of their embrace. They lied silently on the beach and watched the stars. Aang loved to watch the stars with Katara. He looked over at his motionless wife, she was so beautiful.

His thoughts were cut off again when she caught him gazing at her, "What are you looking at?" she asked laughing.

"Nothing… just the most beautiful women in the world," he said seriously.

"Oh, stop, Aang! This old women?"

"Yes," the airbender said gently stroking her hair, "You barely look like a day over 30, as for me I look like father time," he said jokingly.

Aang was right, Katara has aged well. She only had some deep wrinkles forming around her face and only had a few strains of gray hair. As for Aang, he had some deep wrinkles over his forehead and gray hair when it grew in. Now he is 54 [well technically he's 154] as for Katara she is 56.

"We should get back to the Sanctuary before Tenzin starts to worry," the waterbender said breaking the silence.

"Your right, but he's probably preoccupied with Pema. He's head over heels for that girl… Good thing I like her."

"Oh Aang… he doesn't sound any less like when the first time you met me," Katara said poking fun at him.

"That could be true," the monk conceded, "But!" he said sticking his index finger in the air, "I did manage to save the world."

"Ok Mr. Hero, how about you get me home?"

"Sure, Ma'am, Not a problem!" shouted Aang with enthusiasm. Suddenly, with a little help of airbending he stood up and –CRACK- snapped his back. His face shone with discomfort, "Well… I'm not as young as I used to be," he said extending out his hand.

"How did I ever fall in love with a goofy kid like you?" the waterbender asked

"I don't know, I'm charming I guess," teasing her, "But what I do know is that I love you." the Avatar said shifting his tone to a more serious manner.

"I Love you too, Aang," Katara repiled with all the passion she could muster, "Let's go home." Grabbing his hand in the star covered night.


	2. Duality

**Hey Guys! Well the first few chapters are just going to be build up then you'll get to the meat of the story, which I gotta say is very good. Please review you guys. Remember you give me purpose. Thanks so much! **

Chapter 2: Duality

Their footsteps crunched on top of the dried grass, yet they seemed not to even make a noise. Shifting silently through the underbrush of the beach; their fingers interlocked. The moon and the stars shone on their backs feeling the power from Yue. Katara watched Aang as he walked, since he was leading. After over thirty years of marriage you get to know someone and there was something different about him. The concerned waterbender couldn't put her finger on it; maybe it was the way that he was walking or his posture. She knew something was off.

"Aang?" she asked softly

"Yes… What is it?" the monk turned to look at his wife

"Are you feeling alright?" the waterbender whispered

"Of course… I feel fine… w-why do you ask?" the airbender stated cautiously

Letting go of his hand she suddenly raised her voice, "Tell me the true, Aang."

"I'm fine really… " he projected flinging his arms up in defense, "Don't worry about it," he said in a calm tone contradicting his earlier demeanor.

"I have everything to worry about Aang," she paused and looked out at the open bay as if to find her words. Then she smiled and laughed, "after all this time you're still a horrible liar."

"I just didn't want you to worry," he said pulling her into a gentle hug, "You mean so much to me…"

"And do you think you mean any less to me?" She shouted pushing off from him, "Aang…" she shifted to a more stern tone, "I love you, more then you could imagine, but don't keep things from me."

"It's nothing, I just feel a little more tired than usual... nothing to worry about."

Looking deep into to his eyes in an attempt to find if she should continue this fight, but she could realize that he wanted to drop it. "Fine." the waterbender said curtly, "But if there's anything else, you better tell me if you know what's good for you," jabbing her index finger into his chest.

"Ok, anything for you love," the monk chimed trying to lighten the mood.

"Don't try that with me now, I'm still mad at you!" she said stomping off in the direction of the Sanctuary.

He walked home alone in the darkness, with his fists clutched in his pockets lost to ponder his thoughts.

* * *

><p>He was in a happy place…on earth, next to his many good friends, children and grandchildren. The sky was breath-taking with the sun beaming through the soft-looking clouds. They were somewhere he had never been. The landscape was outlined in long, beautiful rolling hills with stunning yellow-green grasses that dazzled in the sun light covering every square inch of the pasture.<p>

Where was he? Why was he here? He was cut off as he spotted his wife walking in his direction smiling at him in all her grace. Her eyes were like diamonds, her hair like long strains of glossy silk; her slender wrists glided elegantly swinging from her body as she walked toward him; her willowy frame inched closer and closer towards him but she never seemed to make up the distance. So, he started to run towards her but he couldn't; he was stuck. What was going on? This was a place that was so full of warmth and happiness, yet it was all trickery and deception. Something was coming and he felt in in the pit of his stomach. So he started to yell towards his wife, friends and children at the top of his lungs but they couldn't hear.

Then the mysterious voice chimed, "It's time for you to let go….."

Suddenly, everything dissolved into thin air and he was enveloped in darkness but this did not cease his cries. "You can't take them from me!" he bellowed.

The voice only laughed, "You are not the judge of that. I have taken many lives… even the Avatar is not immoral."

"So it is my time?" Aang said sullenly, "I am well aware what I have stolen from you. Time, time that I've spent bottled up in that iceberg. I thank you for giving life to set things right."

"Ah, so now you use your brain," the shade's demeanor changed suddenly, "Yes, you are correct; I have given you many things, time because you have set a positive influence on the world. You are lucky; I have made a tradition in for-telling the Avatar's death."

"So, what about Roku? Did you tell him of his death? Of the volcano?" questioned Aang

"For I am speaking too much, my job is to 'do' not chat," the shadow laughed darkly, "No, I only foretell the natural deaths of people, not of people who die in action."

"Please, great spirit, grant me this: I know my request will be inadequate. I am not ready to just let go." He paused and there was a great silence, "I understand the duality and impermanence of this world; how life is replaced with death and sadness with happiness and so forth. Allow me a chance to say good-bye."

"Why should I?" the ghost roared. "I am the great spirit of the shade! I am well aware that I could never possibly kill the avatar since is just simply replaced by another. So, you ask me! Me of all spirits! Why should I give you more time? It will only set off the timing."

"I don't care," the monk stated curtly, "Give me a two weeks, that is all ask."

"No, it has already begun…" the voice chimed and vanished along with the darkness and everything he held dear to his heart.

* * *

><p>His eyes shot open but he did not stir. He breathed shallow breaths; he was weakening. He had to accept the fact that he was going to die, but he could not leave his family; his wife. It had come so soon, so quickly. He would of accepted death if he did not have to leave her: she was sleeping silently beside him curled in a ball. He released a load sigh and rubbed the base of his head, she was still angry with him about what happened on the beach earlier that evening. The Avatar isn't immortal he joked; even with all the power in the world he could escape death. Roku had contacted him in earlier in the week; they just had a simple conversation. He told him that his time was waning thin and for a new avatar to resurface. He openly accepted this fact and was willing to join his fallen people again but he had so much loss passing from worlds.<p>

He sighed deeply again and pivoted his hips off the bed to place his feet on the ground. The floor boards were cool at the touch. He looked out; it was still a clear night, the moon beams shoot through the open window pane leading out to a balcony. He eased himself out of bed and soundlessly paced towards the open window. He had so much to do in such a short amount of time, but he had done it before. Learned and mastered all the elements within the constraints of a single year; time was not the issue. The only problem was saying good-bye. He knew that death could not keep them apart but he could not last to be a single day away from her; she was his world. He couldn't think about it anymore it pained his heart so much and just ended up looking out onto the hushed bay.

He felt her touch; her slender wrists wrapping around his torso. He had to tell her.


	3. Illusions

**A/N: Hey everyone! Hi it's me again. This one has been on my computer for a while; personally, It's not one of my best but whatever. It just deals with Katara finding out Aang 'little' secret and what not. Yeah it's a little emotional so mentally prepare yourself. Here it is! And thank you always for reading!**

Chapter 3- Illusions

The waterbender rested her head on the bare muscles on his back; they were so tense and she could tell something was wrong. She gently placed her hand on the long-healed scar on his back, the one he received from Azula all those decades ago. She hated that memory, the utter sadness and pure anger that welled up inside her, he was gone and she almost had lost him… but that was long ago and the world had changed. He is stronger now, stronger then she could of ever imagined. She just could not help let the thought of if he had died that day dwindle from her mind; she would have never had the chance of telling him her true feelings. She felt him begin to melt into her and his muscles relaxed breaking her string of thoughts. He let out a big sigh as if a huge weigh was lifted off his chest, but remained silent.

"Aang…?" Katara said in a soft, soothing tone, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"You know me all too well," the monk smiled silently to himself enjoying her company as he always did

"I'm sorry about earlier," the waterbender said swiftly moving to stand beside him. She paused and gazed at the stars, "I just care so much about you and I know you don't want me to worry, but I can't help it."

"I know," he mumbled and gracefully turned towards his wife and held her in another deep embrace pulling her hand into his chest. He took in her rosy scent and stroked her soft hair. They stayed liked that for a while locked in one another's embrace. To Aang everyday with Katara was like a dream, every day was as if he were falling in love with her all over again. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and whispered into her ear, "I'm sorry…"

"Oh Aang for what?" the waterbender laughed at first but then was deterred by his serious demeanor, "Is there something I should know?" she asked cautiously

Aang couldn't keep his emotions concealed from Katara, for he was an open book to her. He exhaled deeply as an attempt to maintain his calm and poised composure. "I am dying, Katara," He said as delicately as possible looking deeply into her blue eyes.

"What? What do you mean you're dying?" she stopped as catch her breath, "Aang I can always heal you-u!" The waterbender bit the bottom of her lip trying to hold back her tears.

"It's ok," the airbender said gazing at the push and pull of the ocean, "My time is up and it's time for a new Avatar," he said difficultly holding back the sadness and anger that boiled in his blood. He remained silent looking at the wave crushing on the shoreline. "Katara, I want spend eternity with you if I could but I can't," dropping his head to look at his hands, "I don't want to leave you or the kids…" the airbender trailed off.

"Aang…" she said gently placing a reaffirming hand on his shoulder successfully turning him around. Aang was surprised at what he saw: the waterbender did not display the grief that she had before but a reassuring smile and now they were locked in each other's eyes.

"I love you more than anything in the world and as sad as it is I cannot not stop the cycle of life," she sounded like a zen master, "And I know even you, the all-powerful avatar isn't immortal, but we will never be separated like you think. Remember what you taught me? "

"I know… death is an illusion," he smiled placing a hand on her cheek, "But I don't want you to mourn for me."

"I don't think that's possible, Aang." She said bluntly, "I have lived my life with you, bore my children with you and raised them with you… How can I not mourn you?"

"Ok… But move on," the airbender said pushing a few strands of her loose hair behind her ear, "A simple monk is nothing to be hung up about," looking concernedly in her eyes.

"You're more to me than a simple monk," she said chuckling yet there was a sort of sorrow to it, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? Maybe I could have changed things."

"I can't stop you from worrying, Can I?" he sighed, "I found out a few days ago when Roku contacted me. I woke up because the spirit of the dark, Hei an, visited me a few minutes ago. I was afraid that I would never wake up to see you or our children's faces again," he paused to let the information sink in to his dismayed wife. "I'm so sorry Katara," he said softly, "I wish I could stop this but it's not in my power… I have already stolen enough time…" he trailed off embracing the sadden waterbender taking her again into the refuge of his strong arms.

"What do you mean? What do you mean that you stole time," She questioned him.

The airbender spoke slowly, "When I was in the iceberg… the century did a number on my physical body, making my earthly life shorter."

"If that never happened you probably would have lived as long as Avatar Kyoshi…"

"But then I would have never met you," the Avatar spoke swiftly, "And I would never change that for the world, despite the destruction of my people," he paused and looked at the moon; it was almost full, "When I first saw you, when I was a little boy, you were holding me in your arms. You were so beautiful… I had a feeling but I did not know what it was. When we went to the Southern Air temple, I realized what that feeling was: I just knew you were going to change my life, I couldn't imagine living it without you and I would do it same again a million times over."

Katara remained silent rubbing the moisture from her face and taking in his lovely words bit by bit; they were still locked in one another's arms. Out of all her sorrow she could only muster three little words, "I love you."

The airbender answered to her by giving her a passionate kiss. "I know this will be hard… but we will get through this together and I will never leave you."

That statement was almost ironic, the Avatar remained on the balcony embracing her wife deeply into tattooed-covered arms. He saw her heartache and the reflection of the moonlight off her tears. He could do nothing but hold her, but someday he had to let go.


	4. Time

**A/N: Chapter Four is done. I hope the grammar isn't that bad I did it rather quickly. There's a cute son-mother moment with Tenzin and Katara. I hope you enjoy reading this! Thanks you always for reading. And please review you give me purpose. Otherwise I'll stop writing. **

Chapter 4- Time

Katara did not sleep at all, she only pretended for Aang. She was nuzzled up comfortably next to him resting her head on his chest. She was just content in listening to his heartbeat and his rhythmic breathing. His heartbeat was so musical making soothing kind of harmony with his breathing; airbenders were masters at this. The room was still dark it had to be at least 5 in the morning. She could not fall asleep, _What if something happens? _, she thought to herself, _No, I can't think like that_. There was a cool breeze and she closed her eyes and again began to listen to the heartbeat of the sleepy airbender. It was like a lullaby and the best kind; she slowly summited to it and fell into a deep sleep despite her earlier judgment. A wave of unconsciousness flushed her body; sleep seemed to diminish all the sorrow that tormented her heart, at least temporally.

* * *

><p>The waterbender awoke to the sound of heavy rain pattering the roof of the sanctuary. She loved storms especially when she was with Aang… then it occurred to her: <em>where was he?<em>

"Aang?" she shouted springing up out security of her bed

The monk was nowhere to be found and this scared her immensely. She couldn't hold back the horrible foreboding feeling that had formed in her stomach. _You are so stupid! Why did you fall asleep? _She screamed in her head.

The waterbender started to run; the cool floor urging her bare feet to move further. She navigated the many winding hallways and corridors with ease and quickly made her way to the main chamber.

"Aang?" she shouted with panic running straight to the opposite side of the room only to run into the arms of her son Tenzin.

"Mother? ", Tenzin grasp her tightly in his arms, "Are you ok?"

"Yes", taking a deep breath and regaining her equanimity, "I'm sorry."

"No, it's quite alright Mother. I was just going to wake you up and you came running to me," he chuckled, "Dad wanted me to let you sleep. He said you had a rough night last night."

"Where is he now?" she asked calmly liberating herself from the tight grasp of her son.

"He's at the market, he left a while ago. He just told me he was picking up food for a late lunch." Tenzin was concerned; his mother was acting very different from her usual up-beat self. _Then again_, he thought to himself, _it could just be from last night. But what was so significant to make her react like this? Maybe it was something bad. No, no_ he silently convinced himself _it can't anything too horrible._ But her eyes told him otherwise; they were filled with a touch of sadness. Undoubtedly, it was well hidden but he knew something was wrong but decided not to press it and consult it with his father later.

"That's nice of him." She said quietly, "Where's Pema?" she asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Oh, she's great!" Tenzin roared with excitement completely changing the mood of their conversation, "I can't believe I'm going to be married in less than two weeks!" Katara laughed silently to herself as she listened to her son talk about his soon-to-be wife; he reminded her so much of Aang it was almost unbelievable, despite the fact the he was his son.

"I'm very really happy for you," Katara smiled, "My little airbender is becoming a man!"

"Hey, don't push it Mom!" he laughed, "Well I got to get into town to pick up some packages for Dad. Don't worry I'll won't miss the lunch that Dad is going to prepare. I'll bring Pema too." He kissed his Mother sweetly on the cheek and waved her off.

"I love you Tenzin! Be safe and stay dry form the rain!" she shouted being the concerned mother that she is

"You worry too much," he smiled, "I'll be fine." And before she knew it her son was gone in a gust of wind. _He certainly is as fast as his_ father, she mused silently.

She turned slowly to the direction of the Kitchen pivoting her body and simultaneously letting go another deep sigh. _He did not want to worry me, _she laughed in her head, _and the first thing he does is lets me sleep in, _she secretly thanked him for that because she was incredibly exhausted from the horrible news last night. Another unfathomable sense of anxiety encased her body, _What if he doesn't make it until Tenzin's wedding, _she questioned mutely to herself: _How much time do we have?_

Then, another wave of unimaginable sadness flushed her body, despite all the happiness and joy she felt for her son, this grief was unbearable; she was going to lose Aang. _STOP _she scorned herself, _Don't think like that!_ But she couldn't let go of the sorrow, it was as if it was woven firmly in her heart. _Aang is my heart_ she thought sadly and it's impossible to let go of it; without him she will never be the same.

She finally managed to make it to the kitchen. It was surprisingly clean; regardless of the party they had thrown a week ago to celebrate the mark of 40 years of undisturbed peace. There had to be hundreds upon hundreds of guests at the sanctuary. Major political and economic leaders as well as of kings of all nations and provinces attended the party. Sokka, Suki, Toph, Mai, Zuko and all of their closest friends attained the party too. She wished Iroh would have been there; he would have loved it, serving his tea to all the nations. Unfortunately, he passed away a few years ago, that was very difficult for Zuko and his children. Amazedly, all of her children made an appearance too; of course Tenzin was there with Pema, but what surprised her was her son Rinzin. He had told her that he could not make it but managed to pull some strings and showed up in one of the fanciest of tunics. He also had brought special cargo with him too, his new fiancé, Nuna; she was a skilled firebender. Katara was especially astonished by this because she thought her son was in the jungle the whole time training with the swap benders. Rin was never good at updating her or keeping contact with her in sending letters, but to her surprise Nuna was born in the Earth Kingdom village close to the swamp to a firebender mother and an earthbender father. This excited Katara, for this showed that the scar left by the war was truly healing; firebenders could live with earthbenders in peace. Kya had also managed to make it from the North Pole with her husband, Kane, and her sons Pu-tai, the young airbender, and Yuan, the young waterbender. Sokka and Suki seemed to have a great time too; singing and dancing with their daughter, son and grandkids. Katara couldn't help but smile at the wonderful memories from that grand party. She and Aang particularly had a wonderful time seeing their family reunited and all of their close friends again; it seemed almost surreal. It felt so long ago that her children were once toddlers running around the corridors of the southern air temple and even longer ago then when she was a teenager defending the world. She laughed too herself to the thought of all those delightful memories. Suddenly, the waterbender was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard a load thump outside.

She slid the paper divider to find that a certain airbender had dropped the groceries that he recently bought from the market.

He looked up her with his glimmering gray eyes and a small smirk, "Hey five minute rule, Right?" he chuckled with a low rumble in his chest.

Katara laughed and smiled, she was so happy to see him, "I think you mean the five second rule, Honey," the waterbender corrected the monk.

Scratching his head with his free hand, "Right, I better get the time right then," he smiled picking up the pots of rice.

At from that statement Katara soundlessly thought to herself _How much time do you really have?_


	5. Baking is good for the Soul

**A/N: Hey Guys. I'm just on a writing roll... Here's chapter number 5. Hopefully you like it. Cute father-son moments. I can't wait until spring break and I can work on my tan (I know that's irrelevant but remember it's my Author's Note). Enjoy. And thanks for reading and please review!**

Chapter Five- Baking is good for the Soul

Aang wanted to keep his approaching death as quiet as possible, but in truth how is it possible? He was the Avatar: the most powerful person in the entire world and only master of all the elements, not counting energy bending. He has touched so many people with his unconditional love and relentless compassion, not to mention at one point in his life he was the last of his kind not until the births of Tenzin and Pu-tai, his daughter's son. Unfortunately, if this information of his illness got into the wrong hands who knows what would happen. He continued ponder his thoughts, picking up the fallen groceries and gently returned them back to the brown paper bag. He then bounced up, with the help of a little airbending and waterbending to shield him from the rain and managed to save all the groceries. He stood tall and then tipped his head down to look directly into his wife's eyes. Her eyes were so beautiful as if one was looking into a vast ocean, but he could not deny the touch of despair he saw in them.

"Well", he said nonchalantly taking her soft hand in his free one, "How about I get out of this rain and we have a nice lunch."

"That sounds wonderful…" she trailed off only to return to a serious tone, "Aang… We need to talk."

"I am well aware Katara," the monk stated reassuringly, "But let's just have a good time and a nice lunch, ok?" he smiled kissing her on the forehead. She nodded and the bit of melancholy she displayed earlier had disappeared; Aang always had a way in comforting her as she did with him. They knew one another so well; they truly were destined to be together.

She followed Aang's tall frame into the kitchen and positioned the ingredients on the countertop.

"So, Master Chef what are we going to create today?" Katara said lightly

"Ah, an old Airbender recipe, Monk Gyatso taught to me when I was very little," he said smiling remembering his old mentor and friend. "They are special fruit pies, unfortunately I haven't made one in a long time so we are going to have to improvise."

"No problem with me. All the more fun… Wait is that Papaya?" Katara said sheepishly pointing towards the odd looking fruit.

"Yeah I thought we'd make a papaya flavored one," Aang said jokingly trying to hold back his laughs and maintain a serious composure, but it was in vain as he broke out in a bone-crushing laughter.

"Aang…." She said giggling, "You know I hate papaya!" throwing it at him.

"Ah, it's worth a try," swiftly catching it with the use off his airbending, "I'll just feed it to Appa he absolutely loves papaya."

"He loves anything you feed him," Katara said teasingly placing her hands on her hips, "Well let's get to work."

* * *

><p>After the cooking duo were finished they successfully perfected the fruit pie recipe by baking three delicious fruit pies.<p>

"Well that was fun wasn't?" stated the pleased airbender overlooking the masterpieces that they had created.

"Yeah, I loved it I haven't baked anything in a while. It was a lot of fun instead of making your favorite dish of sea prunes," the waterbender said mockingly in attempt to get 'even' from the earlier papaya incident.

"Yup… my favorite," he said very sarcastically rolling his eyes with a small smirk on his face.

Suddenly they heard the door slam followed by a bellowing, "I'm home!" No doubt it was Tenzin and Pema returning from there visit to Republic City. It was impeccable timing too; for the cakes were all cooled.

The storm just about ceased when Tenzin and Pema walked into the main chamber and then into the kitchen to discover it a mess with pots and pans scattered everywhere.

The young airbender had a very amused look on his face, "I suppose that we should eat lunch then and worry about the clean-up later," He laughed eying the chaos.

The Avatar only looked up from his flower covered apron at his son to say wittingly, "Boy, you were never one for cleaning up messes. I had to get in the Avatar State just so you'd clean your room."

"Hey that's not fair!" Tenzin protested

"I think your father has a point," Pema giggled

"Yeah, you should listen to your fiancé," Aang winked at him; he was only joking around.

"Well, enough with the fighting," Katara intervened smiling, "I don't know about you but I'm hungry. Here grab some plates."

* * *

><p>All four of them had a wonderful lunch. Talking about stories from the past and telling fun adventurous anecdotes; Aang and Katara certainly had a lot of them. They stayed talking at the dining room table until it was dark out: had they really been talking and enjoying themselves for that long? Aang did not care in the least bit; the fruit pies were certainly delicious, but most of all he got to spend a wonderful day with Katara, his son and Pema. They were having such a great time that Tenzin almost forgot to give the packages to his father, the ones he had picked up from his visit to Republic City. They contained important information from King Kuei the II and his father's close friend, Firelord Zuko.<p>

By now the storm was completely gone and it was a clear and beautiful night with a cool west wind blowing through the open windows. The storm had left the wonderful scent of freshness and renewed the earth. Aang diverted his gazed from the window and looked at Pema. Obviously he could see that the girl was totally exhausted and generously offered her a room. She cheerfully accepted.

"Tenzin will show Pema her room," requested Aang, "And Ten?"

"Yeah, Dad?"

"No, slipping into her room tonight. OK," sticking his index finger in the air, "You can have all the fun you want when you're married," Aang joked but he meant every word.

"Don't worry, he could not get me if he tried," mused Pema sleepily

"Hey!" Tenzin chuckled throwing his arms around her and hugging Pema tightly, "Alright, dad, you win. I promise," giving Pema a soft kiss on forehead, "Come on sleepy head."

As they disappeared into the darkness of the hallway it left Aang and Katara alone at the table.

"So, did you have a good lunch?" he asked smiling

"Of course I did. It was more than a lunch, rather a whole day," laughed the waterbender, "What am I going to do with you?"

"I don't know," he said quite seriously, he paused and looked out the window again, "But undoubtedly I know we'll figure it out," he said shifting closer to her and giving her a gentle kiss.

"Thank you for today," she affectionately whispering it into his ear only to be interrupted by their son again.

"Mother? Pema wants to talk to you about the wedding a little bit," he hesitated, "You know bride oriented things in secrecy," rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sure thing, Tenzin. Which room is she in?"

"The one in the second hallway to the left," he responded softly

"Ok. I'll be back in a little bit," placing her hand on his shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

As the young airbender saw the frame of the his mother vanish into the hallway he quickly took a seat at the table directly across from his father. He needed to confront him about what had affected his mother earlier in the day. It was not as obvious now but he could see quite clearly that she was still recovering from the night before.

Aang was keen enough to pick up on this. He knew his son all too well and read him like an open book as Katara did with him. Another cool breeze slipped through the windows carrying the smell of the wet earth. Aang cleared his throat preparing himself for the possible conversation that may come; death was an uneasy topic to talk about especially with those who are so young. "I can see that you are troubled," Aang said transcendent-like folding his hands together.

"Yes," the young airbender stated quietly, "It's… it's just…" he rambled trying to find the right words, "I saw Mother this morning and she was not herself; there was sadness written all over her face. W-what was the news? W-what happened?"

The Avatar remained silent looking down at his tattooed hands. He was thinking how he should go about this. _He has grown to be a wonderful young man, better than one that I could have ever hoped for, _Aang thought silently to himself very proud of his son and all his achievements.

"You deserve to know," the Avatar stated curtly motioning his hand toward the door, "follow me outside we'll take a walk… I have a feeling this will be a while."

Tenzin nodded and the two monks left the warmth and security of their kitchen and ventured on to the beach. Tenzin had no clue what was in store for him and it certainly was not the secret ingredient to the fruit pies.


	6. Heirloom

**A/N: Hey Guys. In this chapter Aang tells Tenzin the Bad news. I mean if you don't like how he reacts to it by crying sorry (I know it's not manly). I mean if my dad said he was dying hell I'll be crying on the floor. What evs. Hope you Guys enjoy it. I hope it's not too mushy. Anywho please review! And Thanks always for reading!**

Chapter 6- Heirloom

The sandy-ground was damp as it pressed against their bare feet. Tenzin was silently following his father watching his pale blue tattoos in the moonlight. He wasn't aware of where his father was taking him, but he wasn't talking or joking: _This must be serious_ he thought. He didn't dare say a word until his father spoke, he could feel the tension that collected in the air. The walk was not long only about five minutes, but to Tenzin it felt like an eternity; the silence has been eating away at him. Abruptly, as quickly as they started walking they stopped. Tenzin was too wrapped up in his thoughts to even realize where he was.

The destination was a secluded area at the furthest ended of the island. There was a small overhang made of a durable stone-like material and had a sturdy sandstone floor but there was nothing in the small enclosure. Aang simply took a seat in the lotus position signaling for his son to sit beside him. Tenzin did as he requested sitting in the lotus position next to him. He was simply amazed because he never noticed this place before, given the fact that it was very well hidden.

They sat in silence for a while, he looked over to the side where his father was seated. He was completely calm and in deep mediation. He was always impressed by how his father did this; it was as if he could clear everything out of his mind in an instant and just mediate. He recalled one time when his father came out of deep mediation and told him that he was speaking to his past lives; that blew Tenzin's mind because the deeper one goes into mediation almost anything is possible. Suddenly, his father eyes shot open but the monk did not move from his sedentary position.

"Tenzin," the older monk said in a soft but stern voice.

"Yes, Father," he waited patiently for what he had to say.

"Sometimes I miss my people," the airbender conceded, "But never give into the pit of despair, even death is replaced by life and sadness with happiness as well as darkness with light. And the holes that were once there become filled. They just don't get filled by something they get healed by love. And believe me love works in mysterious ways."

Tenzin only remained motionless listening to the whimsical words of his father.

"Your Mother," he continued, "Gave me hope again. She gave me the strength to save the world and change it for the better. Although my people were gone there love is still here swirling all around us and affecting the world. She showed me that they never really left because they remain in our hearts and minds. Death... Death is merely an illusion; the only problem is breaking through it to see what waits on the other side."

Aang paused and Tenzin remained silent. _Why was he talking about Death? And the Airbenders?_ The young airbender thought soundlessly to himself waiting for him to get to the point.

The Avatar now turned and looked his son straight in the eyes, "Tenzin, promise me this: that you will protect your mother and the customs and culture of the Air Nomads."

A huge wave of panic snared Tenzin's mind. _Why was the hell is he telling me this? And Why is he entrusting me with this? I can't do it on my own. _Beads of sweat started to form on the temples of his forehand and his hands became moist.

"Of course father," he spoke nervously, "but W-why are you telling me this?"

At first Aang didn't react to the question and humbly remained untouched looking up at the stars as if to seek guidance from them. At the moment, Aang's heart was about to burst out of his chest from the misery that swelled up in his veins. He never wanted to part from his family never in a million life times; he wanted to be there if they ever needed him and now he was leaving this enormous burden on his son.

He exhaled and spoke in a clear voice, "My dear Tenzin my love for you, your brother, and your sister is immeasurable… I am asking you this because… ," the monk hesitated, "I am dying."

Tenzin was in complete shock; all different kind of emotions swirled around in his head he didn't know how to respond and stared blankly back to his father as if he hadn't heard him. He was dazed.

"Tenzin?" Aang shook his motionless son. Then Tenzin started tremble uncontrollably. The Avatar immediately embraced his son pulling his head into his chest and cupping his head in his hands. It was like he was five again and he was holding him in his lap. By now the shock was passing and he was openly weeping. Aang swayed back and forth gripping him tenderly as to comfort him. He could not take it anymore; he absolutely hated to see his son this way; _Why'd you tell him_ he screamed at himself _He_ needed_ to know _he pleaded to himself.

"Tenzin, please," begged Aang, "Stop crying, please, son. Don't be sad. Shhh…please," Aang comforted him. This is why he didn't want to bring Katara with him, too see her son so heartbroken would have destroyed her. So the avatar sat there cradling his son like a baby.

After a few minutes, Tenzin finally calmed down enough to sustain a normal conversation. He freed himself from the protective clutch of his father and returned to sit beside him.

"I'm sorry," Tenzin muttered through the pain he felt and wiped the lingering tears from his face

"Don't be," the monk stated calmly placing a fatherly hand on his shoulder, "I shouldn't have put that amount of responsibility and pressure on you..."

There was a long silence; they were just satisfied in listening to the calming sound of the push and pull of the waves, to sooth away some of the grief.

"Tenzin, I understand that you are very upset. It is natural feel this but I will always be with you."

He simply nodded his head in agreement, "Is this why Mother was so upset?"

"Yes," he looked down, "Tenzin, you have a duty to realize."

"And what is it," he questioned looking at his father with open eyes

"You have to protect the Air Nomad culture. I know this task will be difficult but you are the only one I can entrust. At least your aren't alone like I was, you have Pu-tai remember. I know you can do it... And you have to teach me Airbending."

"What?" Tenzin laughed at hearing his father's final statement. _My Father has gone nuts_ the young monk thought_ he is the best Airbender in the World. Not to mention the Savior of the World._

"You think that's funny don't you. But I mean every bit of it," Aang laughed at his son's reaction, "I'll be reincarnated."

"Oh, Right." the young airbender nodded

"See I won't be as far away as you think. But more importantly you have to promise me one more thing," shifting to an even more serious tone.

"Yes, Father what is it?" replied Tenzin uneasily

"Promise me you will look after your Mother."

"Of course," Tenzin looked at his father with his puffy eyes. He was trying hard to hold back his sorrow but he was slowly losing the battle.

Aang turned and looked into his son's eyes placing his hands on his son's shoulders, "Please, Ten, I know you can do this. After all you are my son and twice the airbender then I ever was. I believe in you more then you'll ever know. You are strong and don't you ever forget that," he said smiling lifting his son off the stone-covered ground.

Tenzin could only succeed in nodding his head again for the heartache and responsibility he felt was so great it was almost overbearing. Aang was well aware that the news would take time for Tenzin grasp and recover from so he suggested returning to the Sanctuary. The monk looked at the sky and realized what time it was. He knew Katara was worried so the two monks embarked on the trail towards the direction of the Sanctuary in silence.


	7. Strain

**A/N: Hey Guys! Chapter 7 here it comes. Sorry it's a little shorter than the others but don't worry its full of stuff. Just prepare yourself for this one, it possibly could be emotionally taxing but I know you guys can take it. Anywho hope you enjoy. Please review and thank you always for reading!**

Chapter 7- Strain

Aang returned to the Sanctuary unaccompanied dragging his feet along the still-wet pathway. Tenzin wanted time to be alone and Aang couldn't deny him. Understandably, his son was very distraught, caught in a web of undeniable anger and sorrow. He exhaled deeply and recollected watching his son run of into the distance; the resolve that always carried him was not there he was fueled from unadulterated grief and Aang knew that he desperately wanted to be rid of it. To think he was the cause of it and badly wanted to run after his broken son but he couldn't. _No _he thought to himself _this is a journey he has to take_. As much as Aang wanted to comfort his son he knew in his heart that he had to overcome it on his own, in his own time.

The airbender neared the door of the Kitchen and could see the fluttering light of the candle through the translucent slide. As he placed his hand on the wooden handle, he heard a huge bang followed by an enormous mushroom cloud. Granting that it was almost pitch dark out, Aang could finely see the contours of the cloud for the moonlight reflected off it creating magnificent shapes and shadows. As surprised as the Avatar was to see such a maleficent sight he knew exactly who had bent it: Tenzin. He was taking out his frustrations on the beach using very powerful gusts of wind which blew up excessive amounts of sand in the process. This immediately took him back to when he was twelve: _They were in the Desert looking for the Lost Library. Then they took Appa. He couldn't cope. He couldn't. His people were heartlessly murdered, essentially a genocide. Death was everywhere. He was the only one left: the only one. They destroyed everything that he once held close to his heart. Within the 100 years everything he had from the temples were changed or either destroyed. Appa was the only thing that was untouched from his childhood in the southern air temple, not to mention he was his lifelong companion and he was taken away from him! And with all the power and strength he hit the sand with such of force and velocity it created an enormous mushroom-shaped dust cloud screaming at the top of his lungs. _The airbender shook his head to the thought of the unpleasant memory because at that time he was too blinded by his own rage and as a result he had forgotten about his friends and almost left them to die in the desert. _How dumb were you? _he thought _You left your friends, you left Katara there when all she wanted to do was comfort you. _But then again he was only a twelve year old boy still recovering from the loss that he had suffered. Tenzin was certainly feeing the same. For he knew his son would be in the Avatar state at the moment if he could.

He exhaled deeply again releasing the bad memory from his mind. He turned and again placed his hand on the paper screen only to hesitate. He felt a slight pull in his chest. The sensation went as quickly as it came and Aang decided to ignore it.

He swiftly pulled the screen door open only to encounter the feeling again but this time it was more intense. Suddenly, Aang clutched his chest with his fists as an attempt to release the pressure off of it. _Oh God, not Now! _He pleaded inside his head. Still gripping his heart, he sensed his body go weak and started walking toward the direction of his bedroom. He only succeed in making it half way down the hallway until he collapsed knocking down an end table and a vase generating a load ruckus. His hands and face met the cool floor fanning out his limps. He tired regaining his footing but it was impossible for he was two weak. Now he was on his hands and knees coughing up spats blood until he buckled again under the weight of his own body. He wanted to scream and shout for help but his throat became tense and hoarse as if it was tied up in rope. _Please! Not now! _He begged in his head. He didn't want to die this way: he didn't want to pass without seeing her face again one last time. He laid there on his back hyperventilating and grasping his chest tightly as if it was the last thing he would ever hold on too.

His wishes were answered as Katara came running down the corridor with Pema close behind to investigate the noise. She heard loud pants and feared the worst. Every step she took felt like a whole lifetime; what is she did not get there in time which is what frightened her the most.

She turned the corner to discover his fallen body on the ground covered in a sea of broken glass.

"AANG!" he shrieked in panic

He didn't respond. He did not have the energy to do so but only winced off in pain.

"Pema!" the waterbender shouted pointing her finger toward the closet, "go and get the first kit."

As Pema sprinted towards the closet, Katara pulled out her water skin and quickly knelt beside her collapsed husband; he was still clutching his chest hard and looked like he was having difficulty breathing. For less than a split second she looked into the gray hues of Aang's eyes: they did not show fear, but an undying love and life which glimmered in the darkness. She couldn't respond to this for she had to act.

Rapidly she waterbended two spherical balls making them glow blue and laid them on his chest in the hope of relieving the strain he felt. Aang felt another pull on his spirit urging him to leave his mortal form but he fought on clasping his chest tightly in the grips of his hands, but as the harder he fought the more his soul tugged away. He didn't know if he was going to win the battle.

**A/N: Oooooooo Cliffhanger **


	8. Bereavement and Recalls

**A/N: Hey Guys! Sorry about the wait had a lot of stuff to do. Like essays and shit. Anyways I ran in my first half marathon crazy I know that's freakin 13 miles right there. I think I did it in less than two hours. Well thanks for staying with me. I actually have a real Saturday with no school and practice (FYI: I go to a prep school so we have school on Saturdays fun stuff I know) so I'm planning on writing a lot. Thank you always for reading! And please review you give me purpose.**

Chapter 8- Bereavement and Recalls

He flashed in and out of unconsciousness. He was moving and everything seemed to be going at the speed of light. He lost a lot of blood. Memories were flying everywhere. He was placed on a bed, someone was supporting his head. He looked up to see a muffed form of a beautiful woman; it was his wife and she was at his side. He could always recognize her for she was a part of him as his own heart or soul. He lifted his hand to meet his wife's and grasp it tightly. He could hear the sounds of distorted words of encouragement which had broken through his film of oblivion. Then there was a another flash of light… everything went black and his muscles lost their life; his once nimble grip dissolved into nothingness and fell to the floorboards.

Now Katara was panicked; Aang was not responding to her anymore. His eyes didn't gleam any longer like they used too, they became lifeless like cold stones. _Oh please, Oh Spirits please! _she pleaded in her head. She checked his pulse; he was still alive sustaining a very weak heartbeat. She had maintained her composure for as long as she could manage but now she was crying profusely. So the distressed waterbender tenderly stroked the face of her dying husband as to still ease his pain. No matter what she would never leave his side for he would do the same for her a millions times.

* * *

><p>He was in the mountain range and very familiar one that was filled with puffy white nimbus clouds. It felt so familiar; they were mountains of the southern air temple. He couldn't see himself it was like his was a cloud of energy. He was an invisible mass hovering high in the sky. Amazedly, he did not feel fear; he felt a great sense of warmth and delight as if he were coming home. A gentle breeze blew the clouds away to show the southern air temple in the distance. From a far the temple looked like a luminous gemstone shining in the sunlight with its bright blue steeples capping the towers. <em>I am in the spirit World? <em>Aang thought in his head _No, this is just a dream, I'm still alive, _he acknowledged.

Landing on the ground he took the form of his current 54 year-old body. Lifting his hands he noticed that he was transparent and glowing an eerie blue as if he was in the spirit world. _Maybe I am in the spirit world _he second guessed himself. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted out for Roku but he did not come. _I guess I'm on my own then. _He slowly entered the temple only to become dumbfounded; there were monks, lemurs, children and bison covering every square inch of the shrine. He was frozen with shock taking in the pleasing and familiar sight.

Then he saw himself; a little 6 year-old child without his tattoos. He was playing air-ball with some of his friends and winning. He laughed to himself remembering his lost childhood. He was reliving his life: he saw himself run away, wake up in Katara's, the battle with the firelord, his wedding, learning metalbending, babysitting Sokka's and Suki's first child, watching the stars with Katara, all the war meetings he attended with Zuko, the births of all his children, teaching Tenzin to airbend, the cave of two lovers, the first time he made love to Katara, mail-sliding with Bumi, battles he fought in the earth kingdom against the fire nation rebels, finding Momo, meeting his past lives, teaching Rinzin and Kya to waterbend, learning how to create lighting, rebuilding the air temples, the time Katara broke her leg, the time he was told his was the Avatar, Kya's wedding, learning airbending from monk Gyatso, all of Sokka's distasteful jokes, losing Appa, learning firebending from Zuko, when Tenzin give Rinzin a blackeye when they were toddlers, asking Katara to marry him, getting in trouble with Kuzon in the firenation, meeting Toph, the ember island players' play, building the republic city, time he rolled his ankle when he walked out the door **[A/n: that happens to me all the time so I just put it in there]**, battling and winning bending battles, his first date with Katara, giving hope to people of all the nations, mastering the Avatar state, making his betrothal necklace for Katara, all his spirit world journeys, playing with his children, and reliving the first time he died. All these memories both good and bad played before his eyes in a never ending sequence. He couldn't help but smile to himself for he would do it again the same a hundred times over, all he wished that if he could make more. So he looked up into the gloomy sky of his dream and pleaded to Hei an, the spirit of the shade.

* * *

><p>After two extensive days, Aang had been in a coma sometimes stumbling out of consciousness but just to mumble something inaudible. Within those two days Katara had contacted their closest friends for friends were his immediate family. Rinzin came quickly from the reaches of the jungle leaving Nuna behind, Kya and Kane came from the North as quickly as possible on boat leaving their children with Kane's parents. From her metalbending school in Gaoling, Toph came hurriedly on a boulder leaving her husband to manage the school. Sokka came from Kiyoshi to comfort her sister as while as Suki who had become a like a sister to her. Zuko and Mai made the trip too putting all their work on hold for the Avatar. As for Tenzin he remained close to his father's side helping his mother in any way possible. He couldn't help but think it was his fault but he needed to continue to stay positive for his father. This is what Aang needed, it give him an strong foundation of love and support for the bond of friendship between people he loved can heal him as it did fill the emptiness the once inhabited his heart from the hole his people left. Katara only informed the most immediate because the news about the Avatar's sudden illness would not be beneficial but counterproductive to the world.<p>

Toph Bei Fong was the first to arrive; she was as old as Aang, was married and had a daughter. Her daughter, Linhua Bei Fong, was the current chief of police in the Republic city known as the resilient and cunning chief Bei Fong. Aang and she have had a good relationship and appointed her a few years ago the chief of the elite metalbending police. She was like her mother: tough as nails and a very skilled earthbender. Despite her young age she was the perfect fit for the job.

She came rushing in not even stopping to put her things down, "What's a matter with twinkle-toes?"

Katara looked up from her position next to Aang to meet Toph's blind and colorless eyes, she was glad that she could see her face because the sadness that it showed would of broken anyone's heart.

Toph was over her now and could sense her trembling from her vibrations, the waterbender cleared her throat, "Toph… Aang is dying."

Toph was in shock just as Tenzin was she could only manage to mumble, "Oh Katara…" in sympathy to her. Her knees started to buckle as if they could not support her weight any longer and the blind earthbender took a seat at the end of the bed. She sat there silently allowing the horrible news to sink in while Katara placed a cool rag on Aang's forehead. The airbender has been having a ghastly fever for about two hours that hasn't broke yet. The waterbender then started to stork Aang's temples positioning his body onto hers cradling him in her arms.

"He can't be. Twinkle-toes can't be," the stunned earthbender finally choked, "He was the one who got struck down by lighting and lived, he was the one who defeated the Firelord with one hand, how can this be?"

"Toph," Katara said firmly as possible not looking up Aang, "even the Avatar isn't immortal."

The waterbender was only met again with more silence. It was morning out and Katara had been up the almost the whole night. Pema and Tenzin offered to monitor the airbender but Katara refused since she could leave him. Eventually, she had to summit to their request for she was mentally and physically exhausted. So she had fallen asleep next to Aang and woken up to the sun light beaming through the window panes. Now Tenzin and Pema were making breakfast to accommodate all the guests that were coming.

Regardless of the sadness, it was an absolutely beautiful day outside; there wasn't a cloud in the sky with a warm breeze blowing from the west. She could hear the calming crush of the waves against the shoreline and wished she could have had one more walk with Aang.

She was so lost in her thoughts not to notice the blind earthbender was crying, "Katara," she said in a somewhat broken voice, "Aang is going to be alright," ending in a stronger tone.

"And how to you know that?" she said now straying away from her focus on Aang.

"Because," Toph responded wiping away all her lingering tears, "he'll never leave you."


	9. Lazarus

**A/N: Sorry guys. I promised a lot of updating but I didn't get a chance too. My friend from Russia came to visit me unexpectedly. Sorry I over-promised and under delivered. Anyways this one is very short compared to all the previous chapters. This is because it is the precursor of more intense stuff to come. Trust me I got some good ideas going. Anywho, Read and Review thanks! **

Chapter 9- Lazarus

It was late in the afternoon and the sun was drooping low in the sky. Kya was the last to arrive since her trip was the longest by boat. Zuko, Mai, Suki, Sokka, Toph, Pema, Kya, Kane and Tenzin all sat silently in the main camber. The room was the largest in the Sanctuary adorned with high lofting pillars which opened up to a beautiful garden that surrounded the temple. The dim yellowness of the sun filtered through the pillars creating an almost warm sensation that totally contrasted the sorrow that filled the room.

No one talked for they all were well aware of the grim situation. Everyone was given a turn alone with Aang. The odds were very slim for him to survive as a result of his age. Katara's calm and composed demeanor was slowly deteriorating into an open sadness, so she resided by one of the pillars looking out into the garden lost in her thoughts. Her children and her brother, Sokka, tried to comfort her but their attempts were futile; she was too heartbroken. Even though Aang was in coma, his friends and family wanted to have their last words with him. Currently, it was Rinzin's turn.

The day soon turned into night. The coming of night marked the third day of Aang's coma. Everyone took turns monitoring Aang, but it was challenge to coax Katara away from the fallen airbender.

Another day passed in the same manner: no words spoken. By the passing of every day the situation worsened; Aang's heartbeat became increasingly weaker sensed by Toph's earthbending. Aang had been in a coma before when he was recovering from the lighting bolt but that was when he was young and resilient. Now his spirit is hanging on by the ropes and the longer he is unconscious the harder it becomes to wake.

On the fifth day, events went as they did before and Aang remained motionless on the bed sustaining a weak pluse. _Was this it? _Katara wondered gazing at her husband from her seat at the end of the bed. She was alone changing the linens and watching him rest almost peacefully. His chest expanded and relaxed almost musically to his breathing. She shifted from her seat on the end of the bed to rest beside him. The waterbender pivoted her body towards her husband to cup his face in her gentle hands. "Please," she whispered, "Wake up. Just this time please, for me."

Suddenly she was answered with a cough and wheeze as if he understood. Katara always seemed to manage to break through to Aang under any circumstances because he always seemed to be listening for her. She felt his heart rate spike and he started to breath short shallow breathes. She was unprepared for this and intently watched the struggling Avatar. It looked like he was fighting a battle to gain consciousness.

"You can do it Aang!" the waterbender urged placing her hands on his shoulders for support.

His breathing returned to normal and beads of sweat formed on temples of his forehead. He exhaled deeply to release the tension and then his eyes jutted open revealing his deep gray hues. He was exhausted.

"Aang?" she whispered breathlessly shocked by what she had witnessed

He was too weak to respond but raised an unsteady hand to his treasured wife's face. She held it tightly and kissed him on the forehead. They remained looking into one another's eyes for a few moments and then his hand dwindled in strength and fell back to his chest. His eyes remained opened though as a sign that he was ok and even mustered a faint smile.

"Rest now," the waterbender whispered, "I'll be, Ok."

The enfeebled avatar remained frozen and attempted speak. Katara only placed a finger on his lips to silence him and kissed him on the forehead again. Then she swiftly paced towards the door only to hesitate as she neared the doorway.

"I love you," she said with her back turned to him. She didn't dare look at her husband in such a state, "I'll be back in a second." gathering up all her courage she turned to look her husband in the eyes, "Please stay awake for a little while."

He weakly nodded to show her that he understood watching the slender frame of his wife disappear into the hallway.

His hands remained resting on his chest but they would have been wrapped around his wife's waist if they could. He laughed weakly: had won the battle.


	10. Aspects

Chapter 10- Aspects

The room was silent and the Avatar was simply happy to be with the living again. The new linens that Katara recently brought lay over his long and battered frame. The white sheets gave him a sense of security and warmth as they wrapped around his body. They smelled like scent of sweet blooming cherry blossoms and he was just content in taking in the smell and listening to the sound of the waves recede on the beach. He was too mentality exhausted to reflect on what just happened and focused his energy on his recovery. Then he heard loud shrieks and yells and everyone came bursting through the door almost ripping the paper divider into two.

Kya was the first to reach him and immediately flung her arms soundly around her father's neck pulling him into a deep hug. _Well, I guess she told them _Aang wondered and chuckled weakly attempting to return the gesture to his daughter but failed.

"Dad! You're alright!" Kya yelped in sheer joy

"Y-Ye..s," he mumbled softly in discomfort

"Kya," Katara interrupted placing her hand on her daughter's shoulder, "I think your father is pretty tired."

"I think your right," she said smiling, "Sorry, dad, I'm just happy to see that you're ok."

He smiled faintly and she placed his damaged body back on the soft mattress. Now Everyone lined the bed gazing at the reawaken Avatar; it was a miracle he escaped death once again.

"Well, look at you buster!" Sokka snorted, "I thought you wouldn't have made it seemly that you already died before."

Aang responded with a light chuckle but it hurt him to laugh and scowled in pain afterwards; his ribs were sore from the internal bleeding. His whole body was hurting; every single fiber was exhausted and beaten. Aang could barely succeed in lifting his head up an inch.

"Oh, stop Sokka!" Suki scolded him throwing a demeaning finger in his face.

Sokka just put his hands up in defense, "Ok! I'm just trying to lighten the mood here," he laughed placing his arms around his wife.

"Yeah, Sokka I think you should let the hero rest and listen to your wife. She is after all a skilled warrior," Zuko smiled folding his arms defensively.

While there squabble continued, Tenzin, Rinzin and Kya all sat by their father. Aang managed a small smile before sneering off into pain again grabbing his right side. They all placed their hands on their beloved father and pulled him in for a group hug. It was a beautiful moment; Aang had been wonderful father and clearly made an enormous impact on his family including his friends. Eventually everyone joined in on the embrace, which successful broke up the small fist fight between Sokka and Zuko, for they were all family to one another. The airbender's strength was quickly diminishing and soon everyone left him to rest only Kane (Kya's Husband) and Katara stayed behind.

She sat next to him allowing her legs to overflow on the floor and placing a comforting hand on his chest. She was very pleased to see that he was healthy and stable at the moment but she knew it wouldn't last. The waterbender became dazed to even think that he was healthy just a week ago winning bending battles and how quickly things can change. She looked down towards her husband to discover him attempting to speak.

"You should rest," she said bluntly trying to silence him.

"k-Ka-tara-a…" Aang managed to mumble.

"Please, Aang, for me. Save your strength for tomorrow," she voiced in a soothing tone.

He nodded and visibly relaxed his muscles releasing the tension that showed in his eyes and ran throughout his whole body. It was still morning and the others have left to partake in a late brunch; Aang was too weak to join and remained in their bedroom.

"I'll bring back some food in a few minutes, ok," she said getting up from her position next to the airbender. The avatar simply responded with a look in his eyes and she understood.

Now she turned towards Kane, "Kane can you take those dirty sheets for me and put them outside?"

"Of course," he said in his deep rumbling voice. Swiftly taking the basket in his hands he turned to face his father-law, "Feel better, Aang."

The aibender simply nodded. Kane was happy to see that he was alright and disappeared down the hallway. The basket was fairly heavy and Katara was really thankful that Kane was helping her. She paced down the winding hallway to reach the outside.

"You can put it there," the waterbender gestured with her hand.

As he placed the sheets down, he suddenly spoke, "He really loves you, doesn't he?"

"What makes you say that?" Katara asked surprised by Kane's statement.

"The way he looks at you," he paused and looked at Katara to see if he should continue, "I can see that it is full of love. It reminded when I met Kya. That's all."

Katara simply smiled placing reassuring hand on the warrior's shoulder, "We have a connection like that I guess. Thank you, Kane for your help."

He nodded and turned toward the direction of the Kitchen leaving Katara alone to sort the laundry. She thought about what Kane said her. No matter what she did, right or wrong, Aang always loved her and looked at her with the same eyes when she found him in the iceberg. She silently smiled to herself. She remembered the time when Aang was consulted about his marriage with her. He was 17 at the time and had to travel to Ba Sing Se to a council of five. The topic of discussion was the repopulation of the airbenders and certainly Aang was a big factor. She was sitting behind him and urged the airbender not to marry her. Obviously, Aang didn't budge for his love for Katara was bigger than the repopulation of his race. The meeting lasted for hours and Aang held his ground. Then they suggest that he tried having sex conference with random women; this was his breaking point. If it was not for his self-control he would have been in the Avatar state knocking the councilmen's heads together. She recalled his reaction vividly: He swiftly stood up and looked directly into the top councilor's eyes, "Who are you to decide that my life," he bellowed in a disgusted tone.

"Please, sit down!" the old councilmen shrieked, "It is a matter of your people, Avatar!"

"Yes, I am well aware. My people were mercilessly murdered but that is in the past. I cannot change it! But what I can do is live the way that I am supposed too. That is to marry Katara. That's the Balance! The airbenders will come back someday, but not this way!," he kept his cold gaze on the councilmen his face inches away from his. He was about to burst from the sheer anger that welled up in his veins. He exhaled and regained his composure, "Thank you. I'll be leaving now."

"Very well," he said waving him off with his hand, "Who am I to direct the Avatar. I'm am only concerned citizen; if you believe this is right, so be it." The man sat there gazing unsteadily at the young airbender stroking his long unkempt beard.

With fury in his step, Aang turned towards Katara extending his tattooed hand too her. She remembered staring up at him. The look, the look in his eyes; they were the same.

"Mother?"

Katara's head shot up from her focus on the sheets bringing her away from her thoughts to find her daughter.

"Mom, I'll do this later. Come and eat with us," Kya smiled and helped her up from her place beside the basket.

"You are very lucky," Katara said cheerfully as she gathered her footing.

She watched her mother paced towards the door frame. Luckily, Kya was right behind and just give her mother a quizzical look, "Why do you say that? Is because I have a mother like you?" she said tease her.

"Ha! You couldn't have made it without me! That includes your father," Katara giggled and transitioned to a more serious tone, "I meant Kane. He is wonderful."

"Thanks, Mom," Kya said and giving her Mother a sweet hug, "I love you."

"Love you too, Sweetheart," pulling her into even a more deeper hug,"More then you'll ever know."

They stayed locked in their embrace in the center of the hallway. It was evident that Katara was still hurting. The darkened hallway gave cover to her falling tears.

"Mother? Are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Just a little tense that's all, I'll be ok," she lied holding back her tremors.

"Please. Mom I know this is a difficult time but he'll be ok," Kya reassured her.

She winced a little in her daughter's arms and hoped that she didn't feel it. Aang was not going to be ok, maybe for now he was. She shook her head to the thought of it. Everything was so uncertain. She picked her head up from the refuge of her daughter's shoulder to look her in the eye and spoke halfheartedly, "Don't worry about me Kya, I'm fine, Really."

The young waterbender was not so convinced. Her mother had always been the strong one; the one that always knew what to do. Now she seemed like she was lost and to see her like this hurt Kya a great deal. Was there something that she wasn't telling her? Obviously, her recovery wouldn't be in a day so Kya decided that a bit a food would help."Ok, but you do not have to do the laundry or any chores for that matter. I'll get Ten and Rinzin to do it," she voiced happily in an attempt to cheer up her mother.

"Rin, doing chores?" Katara giggled at the thought shifting to a lighter atmosphere.

"Dad will be alright, ok," she spoke clearly.

They unlocked their arms and exchanged comforting smiles. After, they followed the corridor down to the kitchen and were surprised to see that Sokka hadn't eaten all the food. Everyone seemed that they were enjoying themselves so Katara decided partake in the small celebration. _Aang is Ok_ Katara reassured herself. With that she passed through the narrow door frame into the airy kitchen and prepared lunch for everyone.


	11. Dumpling Soup

**A/N: Well I hope this chapter is good. I'm not sure. I named it Dumpling soup because it's my fav. Have to say there are cute moments in here. It's been a month since I started this story and so far I've written 11 chapters that's pretty good. Well I'm thinking of starting another Kataang story, I didn't know yet. Enjoy, Enjoy and did I mention to Enjoy it? Read and Review you guys know the deal. Thanks!**

Chapter 11- Dumpling Soup

She prepared vegetable dumpling soup using the available produce from the garden. With ease she chopped through pounds of vegetables in seconds and created a rich broth that whiffed lovely scents throughout the entire shrine. The waterbender always was a great cook learning everything she knew from her mother and evolving her trade throughout her travels; waterbending also helped too. She looked away from the sweet-smelling pot of broth and laid out ten bowls to accommodate everyone leaving one aside.

"Brunch is really!" she shouted out to the dining area.

Before she could blink her Brother was right on top of her holding his bowl with a ravenous look planted on his face.

"I'm happy you've haven't changed," she laughed releasing a small smirk on her face.

"A hungry man never changes!" he said jabbing a finger into his chest for emphasis, "And I love your cooking… Don't tell Suki though." He gave his sister a small wink.

"Alright, hungry man here's your food, but you have to serve everyone else. Along being a hungry man you have to be the world's best uncle and host," she laughed passing the tray full of soup toward him.

"Ah, I don't know. I think maybe I'm the universe's BEST uncle and host. Couldn't you see?" he said with a grin ear to ear.

"Oh, Sokka, just shut up and serve the food."

"Alright! Alright!... Love ya sis," she chimed with a twinkle in his eye. One was on her while the other on the food. She loved her goofy brother; _He is so much his father's son _she mused. She sighed deeply remembering her father's funeral the year after Iroh's. "Dad and Mom, I hope I made you proud … please watch over Aang for me…" she whispered inaudibly grabbing her Mother's necklace which wrapped tightly around her right wrist. She wore the necklace Aang had made her around her neck but wanted to keep her mother's necklace close so moved it to her wrist. At first Aang was uneasy about this because he did not want to take the place of her mother. Katara remembered her reaction to this; she just laughed. Everyone had a place in here heart even her mother but her heart belonged to Aang as his did to her; it was a symbol of their undying love. The delicate necklace seamlessly blended the two symbols of the Water tribe and Air Nomads together which really represented their relationship. They have grown so close that they cannot stand to be away from one other for even single day; they have become almost a single being in a sense.

Katara grabbed the last remaining bowl of soup and followed in her brother's footsteps into the dining area. Everyone seemed to love her soup because she heard noisy slurping and smacking noises. They were all spaced around the main table.

"Katara this tastes divine!" Suki voiced with a satisfied look on her face.

"Yeah, Katara, what do you put in this stuff?" Mai asked with a similar pleased expression.

"Yeah, Sugar Queen I agree with those two," Toph spoke munching down her tasty dumplings.

Katara just humbly smiled, "I guess it was all those years traveling with you guys. It's a little exotic I guess put a little extra spice. Aang likes it that way."

"I don't care how you make it, sis, this is why I come to visit so much!" Sokka said finishing his second helping.

"Sokka you like anything I make," she said teasingly placing her free hand on her hip. The other carried Aang's bowl, "Well you guys give me too much credit. I better go give Aang his food. Who's watching him now?"

"Zuko is. Tenzin switched with him a few minutes ago," answered Mai

"Oh, yeah Ma. He wanted to tell you that he went into town to pick a few things up for Dad. Pema want with him too. I think it may take a while," Rinzin said with a priceless look on his face wolfing down his soup.

"What kind of things?" the waterbender asked uncertainly.

Reclining into his seat, Rinzin shrugged his shoulders "I'm not sure he didn't say."

_That's odd he's certainly had a lot of 'things' to pick up_ she pondered. "Well I guess it's nothing important. I'll tell Zuko to join you guys in a second."

"Mom, aren't you going to eat?" questioned her concerned daughter who appeared from the kitchen with Kane following close behind.

"Yes, Kya, didn't worry about this old women," she spoke hearteningly, "Now enjoy your lunch, I'll be back in a second."

She pivoted and paced through the doorway with the soup clutched between her hands. The walk appeared extra-long for some reason. Every time she took a step it felt like two steps in the opposite direction. A horrible feeling started to collect in her chest one that she couldn't shake. The waterbender was flushed by a sudden wave of anxiety and she did not know why. _Those Packages_ she wondered, _I better get to the bottom of this_. She finally met the door large door to their bedroom and opened soundlessly to find Zuko and Aang conversing about the current state of the world.

"I thought you'd be resting?" Katara asked with a slight anger to her tone. What he definitely needed was rest.

"Sorry, Katara," the Fire Lord spoke quickly obviously picking up on the irritation in her tone, "It's… just we had to talk about the letters I sent before this accident… the ones about Republic City and the trade with the Northern Water Tribe. But mostly Republic City…" he trailed off rubbing the back of his head.

Katara was about to scream at Zuko: Aang almost died yesterday and he's making him work! The Airbender read her perfectly and stopped her before she could release her temper on the unlucky Fire Lord, "Katara its fine," lefting his hand up toward her, "I feel great as a matter of fact," he spoke with a small smile, but she wasn't convinced.

_Wow. He recovered remarkably fast. I can never understand that man sometimes. A few hours ago he could barely voice my name and now his is leaning against the head board like nothing had happened _she wondered grasping the bowl of soup tighter into her hands. She noticeably relaxed to Aang's words and Zuko let out a breath of relief. After all this time he still believed that she would 'end his destiny' as she threatened him at the western air temple; no doubt she could for she was one of the most powerful benders in the world, granting that he bending master too.

"Sorry, Katara, It's just important business," he said getting up from his chair next to the Avatar, "Well I'll leave you too and if Rinzin didn't tell you, Tenzin went to go pick up some things. I doubt it will take long."

"It's ok, Zuko," he was surprised by her quick apology, "Sorry for over reacting it just been a long week. Mai has your dumplings in the Kitchen," the waterbender spoke in a lighter tone.

"I understand," Zuko said supportively, "It has been hard on all of us but we are here for you."

"Thank you, Zuko, for everything," she said giving him a quick hug. He let go of Katara and give Aang a quick nod to remind him what they talked about. Then the determined-looking Fire Lord planted his feet firmly on the floor and vanished into the hallway.

They were left alone again and she stood before the Avatar holding his dumplings in her hands. Aang had propped himself up against the head board and was staring dazedly into Katara's eyes as if he were in a dream. It was surprisingly warm in the late morning and Tenzin had opened up the windows making the white, light curtains dance in the breeze.

They didn't speak much until Aang was finished with his food. He was absolutely starving since had hadn't eaten a solid meal in five days due to his coma.

He could feel that Katara was stressed and enveloped her in his all so comforting arms. She nestled her body deeply into his and there was barely an inch of space between them. Then he planted his lips onto hers giving her a very passionate kiss. They were silent; they were each other's refuges.

The serene and calming moment was broken when Katara spoke the words that he dreaded, "Aang… What's going to happen?"

Even he was uncertain about this.


	12. Two Weeks

**A/N: Sorry this one is a little short. I like writing short chapters! It makes me feel accomplished and that means more updates. Anyway, this is a really Kataang centered chapter where… well just read the chapter. Yes, remember it's a tragedy so in a sense it is going to get more depressing, deal with it. Anyway give me your thoughts on me starting a new story, which is Kataang based, I don't know if I should do it or if people will read it. Well you know the drill: Read and review. Thanks SO MUCH! **

Chapter 12- Two Weeks

There was a long uneasy silence after the words were spoken. They seemed to just settle in the air creating a thick sheet of tension. The airbender didn't want to talk about it; he just wanted to stay there holding his beloved in his arms. His life had been so good to him and the airbender didn't want to face the fact that it was going to end.

She shifted from the warmth of his body pulling herself away from him. She turned to look him straight in the eye. He didn't as so much flinch from the expression on her face for it was an ice-cold stare that was both serious and firm. She wanted an answer.

"Hei An gave me more time…" he spoke slowly stroking his chin with his hand noting that he needed to shave feeling the gray stubble protrude from his face.

"And for what cost? A spirit won't just grant a mortal some time," the clever waterbender countered. She knew him all too well.

He paused, hesitant on telling her the truth. He cocked his head up to look at her beautiful blue eyes and let out a deep sigh preparing himself. "I told him that I needed to stop the revolt in the Republic City to leave the world in a state of peace for the next Avatar."

Katara's facial expression didn't change her icy eyes gaze was piercing at his soul. She wanted real answers, "Aang, tell me the truth. Why would a spirit get wrapped up in mortal concerns? I know that you don't want to hurt me but now is not the time," she spoke warningly.

The Avatar looked down at his hands as if they were the most interesting things that he ever saw trying to protect himself from his wife's cold stare. He stirred uncomfortably under the thin sheets, "Katara….." he started off, "He give me two more weeks to stop the rebellion and attend Tenzin's wedding as a cost to a very painful death."

She gasped loudly from the shock of the newly discovered information. She did know what to do; her body seemed to be working against her and began to sob openly. He moved to comfort her like before but was pushed away every time that he tried.

"Why would you do that? I am already in enough pain! Your so stupid!" the disheartened waterbender shrieked.

"Katara! Please!" Aang shouted attempting to place his hand on her cheek but she quickly swatted it away in disgust. She pulled her legs into her chest successfully burying her face into her legs. Aang could feel her trembling through his vibrations but she wouldn't let him touch her.

"I would have been dead now if I didn't do it," Aang said solemnly, "The next will hire from the Southern water tribe."

"I know," she said bluntly, "But why, Aang?"

"Because I can't live without you, I would die a hundred times just to have a single day with you. A whole lifetime isn't long enough. Katara, I love-e…" he was cut off by Katara's unexpected kiss on the lips. It was so sudden yet warm and inviting. Every kiss felt like there first invigorating feelings of exhilaration and allure. She swept her tongue on the seam of his bottom lip making him moan in pleasure but soon the airbender took control with his tongue and all the passion in his heart. After a few minutes it evolved into more than a simple kiss. Aang started to unbutton the waterbender's tunic as she swiftly pulled off his. Aang has matured quite a bit since he was a 12 year old boy growing to a towering six foot four with a chiseled body due to his intense three hour training sessions everyday. Katara as well has grown into a beautiful and slender woman resembling her mother greatly as her father once told her.

Her dark skin rubbed up against his light complexion. He kissed her neck graciously going down to her breast. She answered in a moan of pleasure. She grabbed the back of his neck with her right hand stroking his arrow as he thrust his pelvis. She grabbed the inner part of his thigh sending chills up his spine and rested her other hand on his muscular back. They needed no words to express their love to one other for it was almost impossible: it was everlasting.

When they were done it was late in the afternoon and Katara rested her head on his naked chest as they covered their bare bodies with blankets. She had an urge and she followed it; it was most likely the last time she was going to be that physically close and it was simply magical. She looked up from her thoughts to find his gray hues staring down at her.

"Well, we better make these two weeks' worth it," she said almost cheerfully. _What is done was is_ she thought, _what a matters now is that he is here, I cannot change anything._

"I'm glad to see your smile again," he said giving her a sweet kiss on the forehead. They couldn't stay angry at one another for even a minute. He pulled back and climbed out of the bed to the bathroom where he applied shaving cream to his face and head. "Sorry about the stubble, I didn't get a change to shave."

"It's ok," she laughed pulling her tunic on and fixing her hair, "Gives me something to hold on to."

He just smiled and laughed leading the razor down his chin, "I will be out in a minute."

"Ok, I'll be in the kitchen," she responded disappearing into the hallway carrying the almost forgotten soup bowl she had brought him.

No doubt his friends and children would happy to see him up and about again. After washing his face free from all the shaving cream and polishing his arrow he put on a simple sash and pants not wanting to wear his formal monk attire. He looked in the mirror at his reflection and cleared his head: _Two Weeks my not be long enough_ he thought. He knew that this rebellion wouldn't end in a mere two weeks it would be have to be the next Avatar's duty, the one that will hire from the southern water tribe.


	13. Contest

**A/N: I have a good idea with the anti-bender revolt that is located in Republic City for ATLK (I know it's probably not true but hey it's fanfic). Anyway haven't you ever thought that Aang's birthday is Roku's death day (or whatever you call it), I just think it pretty sad seemingly Korra gonna have her birthday on the day that Aang dies. Anyway, enjoy and please review. Remember you guys give me purpose.**

Chapter 13- Contest

He closed his eyes briefly and exhaled in front of the mirror again. Now his thoughts were on a totally different terrain. His heart rate was fluttering still and his breathing was shallow. He was thinking about the enchanted and electric experience of feeling his body against hers; he loved her so much. He swung the red and orange sash over his right shoulder like he always did and slipped on his boots recalling fond memories from the past. He felt like he was 21 again in these boots resembling the ones he had worn restoring the air temples. After the long nine year period of the seemingly never ending peace trials, rebellions and conferences died down he and Katara moved from there many temporary homes to a more permanent one in the Southern Air temple. They were beginning a new phase in their life together. The temple was in an ideal location being close to all their friends, family and the Fire Nation if anything drastic happened. Katara was expecting at the time with their first child and was six months into the pregnancy with a sizable belly-bump. He remembered how nervous he was to become a father since he really never had a father-figure. Monk Gyatso was truly the only parental figure he had but Katara insisted that he was going to be a great father. Those years spent with Katara building a family were simply incredible and smiled at the thought of them. When he finally held Kya in his arms for the first time he understood what Katara was telling him and would do anything for his children. He grinned to himself again recalling those pleasant memories. He stood up making the final adjustments on his boots and paced toward the doorway to lay a hand on its frame. He stared at his tattooed hand and gently touched the wooden frame of the door. He was going to miss this place. After a few moments, he withdrew his hand to grab his glider while simultaneously walking down the hallway.

He placed his free hand on the wall gliding it up in down feeling the texture of the stone as he strode down to the kitchen. He looked up to discover the sun beaming through the open windows giving him a warm feeling as he walked. At the moment the airbender wasn't thinking of anything particular; he was excited to be seeing his friends and family again. He quickly turned the final corner to see everyone gathered around the large dining table exchanging anecdotes from the past. Oddly enough, a lot of them had to do about him.

At first he stood in the darkness of the door frame to take in the sight before him: his children were battling outside with Toph, Sokka and Zuko were joking with one another, Suki and Katara where in the kitchen while the rest simply reclined and talked about the past. Luckily, no one had noticed the monk standing there. He looked around again at everyone, their faces gleaming with happiness: this is an image that he would never forget. _Wow _he thought _everything has changed so much when I was a kid._

"Well I can see a bending battle when I can see it. It's getting pretty intense out there," the airbender spoke referring to his children grouping up on the unfortunate earthbender.

"Aang!" Sokka jumped up grabbing his friend in a bone-crushing hug, "Good to see you back with the living buddy!"

"Good to see you too, Sokka!" Aang responded cheerfully returning the gesture to his good friend, "I was thinking about joining that battle out there."

Zuko was right behind Sokka placing a hand on the monk's shoulder, "I don't think so. That's not one of your best ideas. You almost died remember? What will Katara think of it? But it's good to see you walking around but don't push it."

"Yeah Aang, I agree with Zuko," Approved Mai who was sitting comfortably against a cushion holding a conversation with Kane, "You should still be in bed."

"Thanks, guys. I'm quite alright," he said optimistically placing his hand over his heart, "Even the Avatar has to keep his skills up, but thank you for your concerns."

"Aang, please relax a bit, you have to be healthy to deal with the rebellion. Tenzin has returned with the documents too," Zuko pressed.

"Zuko, please, trust me I feel great. We can always deal with that later tonight. After five days of being incapacitated I think I need to stretch my legs. And what's better to do that than showing my children whose boss," Aang laughed attempting to break the tension between him and the Fire Lord.

"This is obviously a lost cause," Sokka said throwing up his arms, "Just let the man fight."

"Fine, but you're dealing with Katara after she finds out," the Fire Lord huffed recognizing that he wasn't going to win the battle, "Maybe I should join you guys."

"Count me out," the warrior spoke confidently, "I'm sure I would slice you to bits with my sword, I'll watch though."

"Well I guess it settled then. A grand bending battle," the excited Avatar gleamed, "Don't go easy on me because of my pervious illness. I'm giving it my all."

The Fire Lord and swordsman stepped back from the monk's statement. "If that's what you want," Zuko smirked.

"Well, I'll meet you guys out there. I'm going to grab Suki and Katara. Just saying Aang she's going to be pissed," Sokka said truthfully swapping a judgmental finger in the monk's face.

The Airbender just chuckled pushing his finger away, "I think she'll be fine. In fact, ask her if wants to join the battle. She'll be on my team of course."

"Fine, fine…" the warrior muttered waving him of with his hand and walking toward the direction of the kitchen.

"He hasn't changed a bit," Zuko laughed helping Mai up.

"Well I hope you guys don't kill yourselves," Mai said glumly grabbing her husband's arm, "But it better be a good show."

"Trust me. It will," promised Aang.

They passed through the open pillars to the sandstone patio that was located outside the shrine. It had to be 50 yards each way specially designed for training and bending. When Zuko, Mai and Aang finally reached the corner of the arena Toph and his children were already there to greet him.

"I knew it, Twinkle-toes. You made it," she smiled hugging him. She knew he was fine after all for she has been monitoring his heart rate. She wasn't going to mention the period were he was off the charts. She had a small idea what his was doing but let it pass in her mind. She grabbed his robes tightly taking in his scent.

"It's always good to see you, Toph," he said embracing his good friend and old earthbending master. He remembered when he was as tall as her; now he towered over her.

While Zuko prepared for the battle with Mai, the monk went and hugged his children kissing them on the forehead, "Come on Dad!" Tenzin and Rinzin protested.

"You let me do it when you were younger," the avatar laughed giving his daughter a final hug, "Well aren't you two manly men. I'm sure you learned a lot from your uncle Sokka."

"Yeah, dad," Rinzin scoffed, "I'm happy to see you alive though."

"I was convinced we were gonna lose you," Tenzin continued sullenly.

"Yeah, you all had us pretty scared," Kya finished looking up from her father's embrace.

The monk hesitated freezing his facial expression for a brief second. He'll have to inform them eventually, but now was not the time or place. "Yeah, that was a pretty close call," he agreed releasing his daughter from his grasp.

Tenzin sensed there was something wrong for a few days ago he told him that he was dying and shifted uncomfortably under his weight. The avatar looked over towards his son and noticed the discomfort in his eyes.

"Well let's see if you guys can beat your old man in a bending battle," Aang exclaimed rather blissfully laying a supporting hand on Tenzin's shoulder. He gazed at his son with reassuring eyes which none the less made the young airbender feel a bit better.

"You're challenging me, dad?" Rinzin boasted, "For a smart man. That wasn't a good decision. I've been training."

"Very confident, let's see if you can back that up," Aang said simply folding his arms, "You three are on a team. Zuko and Toph are the second team whereas your mother and I are the third team."

The three smiled contently running off into the opposite corner to prepare.

"It's on Dad!" Kya shouted from the distance.

Aang snickered at his children's self-assurance and was excited to be battling them again. He turned and walked to the corner where Toph, Mai and Zuko were stationed.

"I put you guys on a team. If that's alright with you guys," stated the monk.

"Bad choice Twikle-toes, you know fire and earth make magma," Toph snorted.

"Yeah, Aang, when I said that I was going to give it my all, I'm giving it my all," Zuko joined.

Aang wasn't fazed everyone seemed to be boasting there confidence and skills which frankly made him more excited, "I won't expect anything less. For you were the one to teach me firebending. As for you Toph, I'm going to get some pay back."

"Yeah, yeah…" Toph cackled waving him off with her hand.

By now it was midday and the excitement of the event was reaching its zenith: everyone was prepared to fight. The airbender waited patiently for his wife in the farthest corner mediating on the battle to come. He took off his sash and boots wearing his simple pant. He had a feeling that it would get out of hand and taking off his boots made it easier to earthbend. His eyes snapped open to the shout of a certain waterbender's voice with her brother's following close behind.

"Well when you said that you'll be 'out in a minute' I didn't think that you would start a bending battle," she giggled leaning down to place her hands on his shoulders, "But I think you should rest."

Sokka was suprized by how calm his sister was not raising her tone in the slightest.

"So you agree. You're on my team," the monk looked up from his meditative position.

"That's not what I said, Aang," Katara laughed, "But I wouldn't put down a good challenge." She paused and tilted his chin to look at hers, "Only promise me that you'll stop if you feel pain or tired again, Okay?"

He nodded smiling up at his wife.

"Well…" Sokka transitioned into the moment, "I guess Suki, Mai, Kane and I will be the judges: the more the merrier."

"Sounds great, Sokka. We'll go by the simple rules, the ones where you have to get the opponent out of the ring."

The teams were set and with the beating sub on their backs: the battle was on.


	14. A Gentle Power

**A/N: This chapter is kind of sloppy. Sometimes I hate writing fighting scenes because it is so much better if it is visual like on TV. Anyway, I'm sorry for the delay but I had Exams this week but don't worry I haven't totally forgot about this story. I have been working on the next three chapters which will be dealing with the 'little' problem in Republic city and what not. Well I'm writing too much and personally I hate long Author's notes but I looked up the other day that ATLK is mostly likely going to show this spring. Awesome I know. Oh and about updates, I'm traveling for the next three weeks and where I'm going there's no wifi. But don't fret I'll figure something out. While I hope you enjoy this attempt at writing a fight scene. You know the drill: R + R. Thanks. AND REMEMBER U GUYS GIVE ME PURPOSE. **

Chapter 14- A Gentle Power

He felt everyone's body tense and their senses come alive through his vibrations: it was that split second before all hell broke loose. He felt the sun's warmth on his bare back and briefly closed his eyes to run all the options through his head. He set his stance and breathed to his wife beside him, "I'll get the kids and they'll be easy. You keep Zuko and Toph busy."

The waterbender didn't even look up from her focused gaze on the arena. She simply nodded to indicate that she had heard him.

Then out of the benders' thick sheet of concentration they heard Sokka hit the dong: the battle was on.

Aang hit his foot deeply in the ground manipulating the earth to lanuch him forward towards his children. Simultaneously, Katara planted a gentle foot on his back allowing her the velocity to land aerobically in front of Zuko and Toph. Seeing this, the fire lord and eartherbender took the offensive believing that they had the advantage in teaming up against Katara. They bent a deadly amount of earth and fire toward the lone waterbender forcing her to widen her defensive stand causing her to be slightly off balanced. Then Zuko summoned quick, small yet powerful blasts of fire from his palms while Toph sunk her hands into the earth shooting pillars at the unfortunate waterbender. Katara was unfazed and regained her footing; after all she was a water bending master and had tricks of her own. Controlling the water vapor around her she protected herself using the Octopus form.

On the opposite side of the ring Aang was successfully fending off all three off his children by manipulating all four of the elements with ease. He shot boulder after boulder at his children. Unfortunately, they were as agile and quick as he was when he was younger. Taking a deep breath he found the spark in his soul and created a large circling mass of fire. It encompassed his body growing bigger and bigger in size. The Avatar simply was trying to throw his children out of the ring by using a more indirect attack. Then all of a sudden, Tenzin shot a very powerful gust of wind toward his father successfully throwing the Avatar off balance allowing Rinzin and Kya to gain higher ground. Aang was surprised by Tenzin's direct attack; he couldn't sense or see it due to him being the air. As Aang used airbending to regain his composure, the two young waterbenders summoned a very powerful wave by syncing their moments. As they released their fury on their father, Tenzin jumped on an air scooter to effectively reduce the distance between them. Using his peripheral vision, Aang saw that his son was gaining on him. By taking a strong stance the Avatar disappeared into the ground effectively evading the all his children's attacks. Tenzin noticed this but decided not to stop and changed his direction to regroup with his siblings. As Tenzin inched toward them, Kya and Rinzin remained back to back with their water skins close in tow intensively waiting for the reappearance of their father.

"What I would give to be an earthbender right now…" Rinzin mutter under his breath wiping the sweat off his brow, "Hurry, up Tenzin! He could be anywhere!" he shouted to his younger brother.

Ironically, Aang's hand shot out of the ground with such swiftness grabbing the young airbender's foot. At full force and speed Tenzin was thrown head first out of the ring.

"Tenzin's out!" Sokka shouted judging the match from the side.

"Well, you definitely called that one, bro," Kya said sarcastically.

Rinzin just released a low rumbling chuckle and readied his stance again. "I'll take Father. I got this one. You get Mother," Rinzin said confidently.

"Well aren't you the little hero? Fine, I guess you'll be the second one out," Kya laughed.

"Oh, Shut up! And go!" Rinzin barked at his sister waving her off with his hand.

The waterbender give her brother a quizzical look; he really wanted to face his father head to head. She swiftly pivoted her body towards her mother planning a cunning sneak attack. This left Rinzin to fend on his own as he wished. As Rinzin released his focus on his sister, he turned his head around to realize that his father was already on top of him blasting him with a powerful gust of wind. With no time to react, the waterbender defended himself by crossing his arms over his face allowing the wind to push him back ten feet; he took his stance again and breathing heavily recovered his composure.

Aang chuckled with a twinkle of expectation in his eye, "Well you better show me some of the moves you learned."

"You'll be surprised, dad," Rinzin answered.

There was a split second pause between Aang and his son. They were at the most ten feet apart staring intently into one another eyes. Despite the fact that there was a totally separate battle at the other end of the ring, the moment between them was eerily calm.

Aang closed his eyes and sensed his son's heartbeat through his earthbending; it was so strong and young. As quick as the tranquil moment came it went. Suddenly, he felt Rinzin's muscles flex and shot open his eyes. The young waterbender fluidly controlled the water around him creating a powerful water whip. By shifting his weight, Rinzin propelled the water whip towards the Avatar only to be met with it again as Aang steered it around his body using his attack to his advantage. Quickly, Rinzin dodged his father's attack by sliding under it and countered him by shooting icicles toward his body. Aang simply raised his hands to be protected by a thick wall of earth hearing the ice shatter against it. At the moment the battle between Aang and Rinzin was evenly matched, but Aang was not using his full power. The airbender fought his son for a few minutes longer, testing his strength and noticing his improvements. The Avatar was very proud of his son; he had certainly become a fine young waterbender and had increased his strength tenfold since the last time he had fought him. Now Rinzin was shooting sharp discs of ice towards his father while he dexterously avoided them by preforming flip after flip. Landing swiftly, Aang looked up and decided it was time to end this little game.

The Avatar took a deep breath and sprinted towards his son at full speed; airbenders were always the quickiest. Rinzin didn't anticipate such a direct attack by his father but continued flinging rods of ice toward him in an attempt to defend himself, but he was too quick. In a blink of an eye Aang preformed a powerful sweeping moment with his hands while bending his knees deeply. In one quick and flawless motion, the monk clunched his fists together shooting them towards Rinzin's chest. On contact, Aang released a very intense gust of wind driving the waterbender up and out of the ring. In the air, Rinzin flailed his arms wildly in an attempt to recapture his balance but it was futile: he was defeated. In a cloud of dust, he landed on his back followed by the sound of Sokka's voice.

"Rinzin's out!" the warrior yelled as Kya's prediction came true.

Aang looked down at his defeated son and smiled, "Nice Try."

Rinzin humbly nodded in defeat amazed by his father's power wishing he could become like him someday. He sat there in a daze pondering how his father had spun that battle on its head. After all he was the Avatar: the most powerful being in the world. Rinzin crossed his legs and looked up to see his father had already disappeared into battle.

"Told you Rin Rin!" he heard Kya mock him as she deflected Toph's attack. He only huffed in disapproval, "Beat her Toph..."

Kya was holding her own against Toph while her mother and Zuko were locked intensively in battle. Her planned sneak attack was a failure due to the fact that Toph sensed her actions and they have been battling ever since.

The battle was growing more and more intense as the seconds passed. The sun slowly ascended into the sky, it was high noon and they have been fighting for a solid half hour. The avatar quickly intervened in the battle between Zuko and his wife summoning an overpowering blast of fire from his palms.

"Well you finally made it. What took you so long?" the waterbender breathed as she caught her breath.

"Had to deal with our two goofy sons," the monk snickered taking a sturdy stance beside his wife.

"Well now you show up!" Zuko shouted across the ring, "You almost got me that time!"

Aang and Katara were always a great team. Their thoughts and movements were one, partically reading each other's minds. In essence, they are almost unbeatable when they were together. Sokka, Mai, Suki, Tenzin and Rinzin all marveled in awe at Aang and Katara's strength. They were both deadly holding a wide variety of skills yet with so much power they could be as gentle as a baby mouse-lion. Sokka, Mai and Suki never fully realized how powerful Aang had become until now. It was almost hard to believe that he was once that little kid in the iceberg.

The bystanders were drawn out of their thoughts when they saw Kya fly out of the arena to land hard on her rump. Toph had launched her ultimate attack against her by tranforming the stone under her feet into sand successfully burying her neck down. At that point Kya's waterbending was useless and the victorious earthbender disposed of her by tossing her out of the ring.

"Kya's out!" Sokka sounded helping his niece up. The young waterbender was covered head to toe in sand and was not at all happy about it.

With the addition of Toph, Zuko was given a little bit of relief from the attacks of Aang and Katara. The firelord was thrilled by this because he recognized if he was alone for any moment longer that he would not have made it. Now the two teams were spaced out evenly between the two sides of the arena.

"Twinkle Toes and Sugar Queen! You won't know what's gonna hit yeah!" Toph boasted confidently swinging her index finger at them.

Zuko laughed darkly at Toph's comment. He exhaled deeply and noticed how exhausted he was but he couldn't put down a good fight like this. "Yeah Aang," Zuko shouted across the ring, "When I said that I was giving it my all. I'm giving it my ALL!"

The avatar tilted his head toward his wife and smiled affectionately at her, "Well, let's give'em a show." Katara loved that smile of his and nodded in agreement.

Immediately, Aang sprinted ahead running in short circles in order to summon a tornado. At the same time, Katara manipulated the water to loop around her frame effectively lifting her into the air. Toph countered this by sandbending the stone into sand forcing Aang to sink under his own weight. With short shallow breaths, Zuko regained enough energy to begin an attack on Katara. He bent his knees and sat in a crouched position. With a deep breath he propelled himself into the air by firebending out of the soles of his feet. The waterbender was surprised by this and in one swift, fluid movement lobbed water toward him successfully catching his right arm giving her partial control of his body. He was stuck in a mouse trap and the firelord was well aware that his defeat was evitable if she gained controlled of his whole body.

On the ground Aang fruitfully freed himself from his sandy prison by bending the earth around him into an earth suit. This also protected him from Toph's relentless attacks of her never-ending bombardments of boulders and pillars. The blind bandit was on a roll releasing powerful attack after powerful attack. She squatted down and braced herself for her next offensive: her finishing move. The earthbender closed her eyes and reached out to the energies of the earth. She instantly made a connection and bent a massive amount of the earth into the sky, which cased a looming shadow over the now seemingly small Avatar.

"I call this one the landslide, Twinkle Toes!" Toph shouted in pure satisfaction. She smiled and dropped her hands releasing her attack onto the airbender. Aang puffed out his chest and stood strong waiting for the the right moment. As the earth was hurled toward him, he ran directly towards the blind earthbender jumping high into the air simultaneously bending two powerful waves of fire and air. The first wave of fire melted the earth into nothingness. While, the second was Aang's finishing move. The gust of wind caught Toph totally off guard effectively knocking her out of the ring.

On queue Sokka shouted, "Toph's out!"

Now they have been fighting for at least an hour and the sun was well in the sky. He felt the sweat drip off his body and the lone airbender looked up to discover Zuko struggling in a trap of water. At the moment Katara seemed to be winning the battle. Unfortunately, Aang spoke too soon as Zuko summoned an overpowering amount of fire that blasted Katara out of the sky. At this point, Aang was furious; he knew it was just a game but now he needed to win. Katara had fought well and the Avatar concluded that she was tired. He shot a small gust of wind toward his wife making her land safely out of the ring.

Catching her in her arms, Sokka shouted, "Katara's out!"

A second later, the firelord landed swiftly on the opposite side of the arena, kicking up dust into the air as he landed. They stood tall like studious knights caught in an intense stare.

"I can see that you're serious," Zuko laughed taking his stance.

The airbender said nothing and took his stance as well, bending his knees slightly and extending his arms toward his advisory. At the very moment the Avatar looked daunting and intimidating with an unshakable look in his gray eyes. It was going to be a great battle, after all where does fire get its power? ...from Air.


	15. Gathering

**A/N: Hey guys! It's been awhile. Sorry about the delay but I did not get a chance during the vacation to upload. So I'll stop writing now and let you guys read. Thanks so much. Please review because you guys give me purpose. Otherwise this is pointless right?**

Chapter 15- Gathering

The air was hushed and everyone shifted nervously at the sight of the Avatar and Firelord. As if someone pulled invisible strings, a sort of unseen tension was building up between them as they stood frozen in stance opposite one another. Beads of sweat rolled off their tall frames as the sun increased its height in the blue sky. From the side, Katara couldn't help but notice the expression on the airbender's face; it was filled with the look of raw determination which made her feel uneasy yet safe all the same.

Suddenly, their breathing staggered, their muscles tensed and their shadows danced under the sun: the battle lived on. Looking at his advisory with his gray hues, he bent his knees slightly and tapping his hands on the free earth underneath him, Aang unleashed a huge shockwave of earth hurling toward his target. Quite artfully, the clever Firelord countered by taking to the skies again with the aid of a powerful fire blast from the soles of his feet. At first it seemed that Firelord's tactic had worked but Aang thought otherwise for air was his native element. Following Zuko's trail, the monk began move his hands and upper body in a circular moment summoning a powerful column of wind around his body. The spectators watched in awe at the scene of the master airbender controlling the wind to his will. His muscles tensed and relaxed at his movements; they were graceful and elegant as he glided his wrists around his torso. It only took Aang a few seconds to build up the velocity he needed to propel himself into the sky. With a deep exhale, Aang launched himself into the sky closely shadowed by a strong pillar of air.

Zuko was prepared for this and as the Airbender rose into the air he summoned a great fireball from his palms in an effort to shoot him out of the sky. As the fire blast inched closer, Aang planned to neutralize the flames with water. As his feet bent the air, the airbender summoned the water from the space around him with his hands. Forming a protective barrier around his body he simply slipped through the wall of fire. Zuko was sure that a magnitude of that blast would have either knocked him out of the sky or inflict a small amount of damage; it did neither of those things. As a result, the Firelord was forced to defend himself in the sky against the dangerous;y approaching avatar. Using the warter around him, Aang shot pellets of water toward Zuko's limbs which froze upon contact. Zuko managed to dodge most of the Avatar's attack but unfortunately, with great aim, one caught on his foot that was supporting his altitude. Cutting his combustion source, Zuko had no other choice but to fall to earth. The Firelord desperately heated his hands in attempt to break free of his icy shackle. With in moments, he felt the numbness in his limb take over. The monk could of easily whacked the Firelord out of the ring by simply raising his hand summoning a powerful gust of wind, water or fire- but that would be too easy. Landing on the ground the airbender took his stance again allowing time for Zuko to free himself. They both were exhausted; breathing hard to catch their breath.

"Well, Zuko, I thought you were going to give me your all?" the Airbender said casually displaying his singature 'Aang' smile.

"Alright, then why are we chatting and get to it, Guru Goodie-Goodie." Clasping his hands around his mouth, Zuko bellowed, "Uncle taught me this one!"

Inhaling deeply through his nostrils, the Firelord opened his mouth and unleashed an ungodly amount of fire toward the Avatar. Aang looked up to the bright flaming ball; he had nowhere to go for it covered the whole 50-foot long arena, so he stood patiently waiting in stance. Briefly closing his eyes he could feel the heat had intensified to find that within moments the flames were surrounding him. Sweat dripped off his brow, with quick little moments of his hands the monk began to gain a harness on the enormous flames, but Zuko was not stopping anytime soon. The Firelord blasted wave after wave of his tremendous fire attacks from his mouth; his stance was still strong but the Avatar knew he could not keep this pace up for long. The monk determined that Zuko was attempting knock him out of the ring due to the amount of power and energy he was using in his attacks. With every blast, the monk was pushed back at least ten feet making him closer and closer to the bounds of the ring. In the beginning, Zuko's blasts were not as powerful and were easily deflected or controlled with a wisp of the wrist, now Aang was having difficulty counteracting his flames as his blasts were grew more and more powerful.

The monk was now encased in fire and was nearing the sideline, but the Avatar was not finished yet. Quickly, the airbender cleared his mind and sought out for strategies. He had used this move once before saving Aunt Wu's village when he was a kid from a volcano attack; it was known as one of the 36 disciplines of airbending. It is when one summons hurricane winds from his core and out through his body and allowing them to exit through the mouth. Twisting his body in a circular motion the airbender gained temporary control of the flames by transforming it into the shape of a pillar. Bringing his body down into a crouched position he launched himself with the assistance of airebnding up and out of the pillar of flames.

Luckly, the wall of flames gave Aang cover and the firelord had not noticed the monk's entry into the sky. The only one to see Aang escape was Katara who was soundly observing from the sidelines; everyone thought that the Avatar was finished. In the air, Aang promptly began his final blow by moving his hands in an S-like pattern around his torso summoning strong. swirling currents of air. With the currents swinging around his body he searched for his energy in his core. Deep within himself he had found the storm. The monk grunted in anticipation and landing directly in front of Zuko, in a swooping motion gathering strength the remaining strength from the air, he brought his hands to his mouth and unreleased his deadly attack on the stunned Firelord.

Just the impact of the attack sent Zuko flying 50-feet out of the ring. With a loud thump Zuko hit the hard ground; the battle was over and the Avatar had won.

"Zuko is out! Aang wins or should I say the Avatar wins!" Sokka shouted running onto the ring. Reaching for the monk's hand, the warrior lifted it high in the air for all to see. Everyone cheered for the monk in sheer awe abd amazement; they did not know how he did it and he always seemed to have a trick up his sleeve.

"Great Battle Aang!" Sokka extolled, "I didn't think you were going to make it!" the warrior laughed

"Wow, you were always the optimistic type," Aang said sarcastically wiping the lingering sweat from his forehead, "Well, let's grab Zuko and get into the shade it's getting pretty hot outside. He can't be that far, I didn't put everything in that attack."

"What do you mean you didn't put everything into that attack?" Sokka said through his astonished daze, "You shot him out of the ring by at least fifty yards! What'd you mean you didn't put everything into that?"

"Oh, relax Sokka. I didn't want to hurt him… You know I couldn't do that. Anyway the monks always taught me to conserve our energy rather than use it all like in Zuko's final attacks because they wasted most of his energy. Granting Zuko was trying to finish me off, but it always got to have something left in the tank."

"Yeah, yeah whatever," the warrior said obviously happy that the monk had won and wasn't really interested in his words, "I'm just tired from just watching that fight. Let's go get fireboy and talk about later."

The others remained on the porch since the sun was beating down, so the Avatar and warrior went to go retrieve the fallen Firelord. Traveling to the side of the ring, Aang put on his boots and sash again. The edges of his pants were a little charred but he didn't take notice and throw the red and yellow fabric over his shoulder.

Sokka was waiting patiently beside the monk, sword on his waist, watching his arrows shift under the light of the sun as he slipped on his boots.

"So, what illness took you down the other day? Nothing I can catch right?" inquired the warrior with his hands crossed over his chest.

The monk looked up from his focus on his robes uncertain of what to say, "Ah… yeah you definitely can't catch it. Don't worry about it… I was just a bit under the weather, you know."

The warrior's tanned faced remained unchanged as brought his hand up to stroke his beard, "Aang, this whole situation was suspicious from the start, being the intelligent and good friend that I am I can see that you're lying to me. Tell me that truth. Plus, you generally don't get sick and easily knocked into a coma."

The monk moved from his position on the ground to place a hand on his friend's shoulder, "I will tell you tonight. I know there have be rumors and I promise you it will all be cleared up tonight. Let's not dwell on that and get Zuko."

"Alright… if you say so."

* * *

><p>Inside the porch, which lined the side of the ring closest to the sanctuary, everyone was recovering and conversing on the previous battle and remained there to relax and seek shelter from the heat of the sun.<p>

"Wow! Did you see Dad! That was a great final strike!" Rinzin swanked in admiration tossing his hands to the sky, "It was absolutely amazing!"

"Yeah, Dad taught me that trick a few years ago but I could never get to that magnitude," Tenzin bragged to his older brother.

"I thought that we stood a chance this time against the old man, but he has certainly been training on his own and mom has learned some new tricks too," interrupted Kya

"What a crazy battle!" Rinzin said now reclining into a chair, "I knew he was going to win."

"I had a feeling that Zuko couldn't win this fight," Mai laughed glumly sitting at the opposite side of the three, "Aang has certainly mastered everything."

"I knew your husband was dead meat too, as soon as he unveiled Iroh's technique. Aang got to his temper and was trying to get him to waste all of his energy. Not to mention that they were both exhausted," the Kyoshi warrior chimed about her observation, "I was too wrapped up in Zuko's attack to even see Aang escape."

"I have to give Aang some credit. I thought he was a goner," the Firelady spoke attempting to recall the sight of the airbender jumping out of the pillar of flames, "I didn't see him either."

"I saw him," Katara said gently not wanting to disturb the current conversation. At the moment the waterbender was in a sort of shock after Zuko had knocked her out of the ring. She was calmly resided on a cushion siting to Mai and Suki, "I knew he had something up his sleeve with the look on his face. He did that technique once before at Aunt Wu's village saving it from a volcano."

"Sokka told me about that," Suki laughed at remembering her husband's tale, "He told me that those people were irrational in believing that crazy woman's fortunes and not in the truth of science."

"No offense I agree with Sokka with that one… thinking fortune-telling is just a big scheme to steal your money," Mai settled playing with a strand of her hair.

"Well, not of it was a lie," Katara smiled grabbing her necklace that was wrapped snuggly around her neck content in keeping her fortunes to herself.

So, the three warriors continued on with their previous conversation for a few moments longer until they were suddenly interrupted by the cumulative voices of the fight beginning between the two brothers.

"Yeah, that move was pretty stealthily. You know airbenders are always the fastest," Tenzin smirked clearly to aggravate his older brother.

"Oh, Shut it Tenzin… nobody cares! Not to mention you were the first out!" Rinzin countered jabbing his fist into his chest. Undoubtedly, the two boys still had energy to pick fights with one another, Kya was smart enough to stay out of it; quite visibly to was the most mature out the three.

The two squabbled for a few moments longer until Kya intervened reminding them that they were adults not children, but it was futile; it was a matter pride. Eventually, Katara had to break them up while Suki and Mai stayed on the sidelines watching at the sight of the waterbender try to defuse the quarrel.

"Alright guys!" Katara roared grabbing both her sons' shirts by the collars successfully breaking them apart, "That's enough!"

"Yeah, but he started it!" Tenzin scoffed turning his back to his brother who had recently gave him a black eye.

"Oh, you guys are such children," Kya teased her brothers

"All of you knock it off!" Katara shouted uncapping her water skin, "Your Father still is recovering from his illness so be respectful and act your age. I suggest one of you go retrieve your uncles and your father right now befre i loss my temper too."

"Fine. I'll go," Tenzin said angrily getting up swiftly from his seat. Rinzin and Kya just looked at each other not daring to cross the path of their mother's cold gaze. The Firelord was not the only one without a temper; the waterbender then capped her water skin, "No more nonsense, OK?"

The two young waterbenders just nodded in agreement without a word and walked away to be somewhere else where their mother was not.

Katara exhaled deeply endeavoring to release some of her stress and looked up at the sky. The sun was drooping lower than it had been before which elongated the shadows of the porch, "I guess it time to start to get some form of dinner ready. The day is getting pretty late."

"No, you don't have too. You already made a fantastic lunch. Just relax a bit and wait for the boys to come back," Suki insisted gesturing the waterbender to sit down by tapping the cushion beside her.

"Yeah, Katara. I bet Aang has an idea for dinner anyway," Mai added, "And you get to yell at Zuko when he gets back for kicking you out of the ring."

"I'm always up for that. I suppose you are right, I've been a little stressed lately."

The three remained on their cushions, stretching out their sore legs, reminiscing about the past and uncomplainingly waiting for the return of their beloved husbands.


	16. In the Distance

**A/N: I JUST WATCHED THE FIRST TWO EPISODES OF A:LOK! IT WAS AWESOME. YOU CAN WATCH IT EARLY IF YOU GO ON KORRA NATION (but you have to become a member first). The only thing I don't like about it is all the technology and stuff. I will get used to it eventually. What evs, it was bound to happen anyway like how it began in England in 1760's with textile mills. Any who, enough history and crap. Oh, I hope in the new series we will get to see flash backs! I miss Aang he is my favorite character by far. Now I'm rambling and typing anything that comes to mind so I'm just going to stop typing (lies). But I want to say one thing PLEASE REVIEW. YOU GIVE ME PURPOSE! And I'm going to try to update every two days since the series in officially coming out on April 14 at 11 AM so that I can end my story the way I want to end it. **

**PS: I named Aang and Katara's first son Rinzin because it is a common Tibetan Buddhist monk name. It is actually Bumi in A:LOK. (I'm not changing it) Thanks to all! PLEASE REVIEW, otherwise there's no point right? **

Chapter 16- In the Distance

His arms were enclosed over his body as he lay lifeless in the dust. It only had taken the monk a few moments to spot the motionless firelord at the base of a large palm tree.

"Look! There his is," the Avatar shouted to Sokka gesturing for him to follow.

The two quickly reduced the distance between Zuko kicking up dust with the back of their heels as they ran to his aid.

"Zuko?" Sokka whispered gently grabbing his wrist to check his pluse, "He's ok and is maintaining a strong pulse. My guess that he is a tad shaken up from that _little _attack of yours," said Sokka raising his hands to form mocking air quotes when he spoke the word little.

The Monk only glared at the warrior, obviously not wanting to argue, so he returned his attention back to his injured friend, "Do you think he may have hit his head?" inquired the Aang who shifted to support the firebender's neck and head in his hands, "No damage here. I don't see any scrapes, bumps or bruises, I think your right. The impact knocked him out. Most likely he hit this tree."

"The impact from your _little _attack," the warrior said sarcastically again, "Why didn't you attack with that amount of force when he was evil? We would have won at least half more of the battles that we had lost, probably would of kept Ba Sing Se too."

The warrior was only joking but Aang took the warrior's comment very seriously. The Avatar swiftly snapped his head up to make eye contact with his Brother-in-law visibly angered by his statement, "Sokka, was it really worthwhile bringing up all those bad memories? I don't want to talk about this now," the monk barked pinching the bridge of his nose. He paused and exhaled deeply, "Ba Sing Se was one of my biggest failures, but I will answer your question. I couldn't attack like that because when I was twelve I was less powerful then I am now. But the bigger reason is that I have learned what it is to be the Avatar."

"I didn't mean it that way but what do you mean?" the Warrior asked cautiously as if not to disturb his friend's train of thought.

"My duty is to the world, Sokka. Before I didn't openly embrace the fact that I was the Avatar, the embodiment of the world and the bridge between universes; I was a just...just scared little kid. In reality, I am nothing but a gentle spirit but I had to learn the hard way that I must do what is right for the world. I can't always hold back for my sake…" the monk trailed as if he had spoken too much, "But what I will never do is take a life. As I spared Ozai."

Suddenly, Zuko's body was moving and his lungs were gasping for air. For a few seconds he coughed violently while Aang and Sokka supported the newly conscience firelord. Now he was in an upright position giving the two a wild look.

"Z-zuko! Or you ok buddy? Can yah hear me?" Sokka asked concernedly grabbing his right shoulder so the firebender wouldn't fall over.

"Let go of me Sokka! I'm fine. Relax!" the firelord spat swatting off the warrior's hand, "My back hurts like hell." He said rubbing the left side of his back in an attempt to reduce some of the pain, "Nice move Aang I barley could track you jumping out of my fireblasts."

"Thanks, but more importantly you're ok. Here's your shirt and boots. Let's get back and let Katara heal you a bit. You'll be healed and up in no time," the monk said lightly grabbing his other shoulder while Sokka again supportted the opposite one.

"Ok one, two, T-three…" Sokka sounded as they lifted the firelord to his feet.

They pivoted his body toward the direction of the porch and began to walk conversing on normal things until Zuko mentioned the uprising in the Republic City.

"We have to handle this tonight, Aang," firebender requested harshly, "I don't want this to get out of hand."

"Is it really that bad?" Sokka asked adjusting Zuko's arm more comfortably around his neck.

"It's on the verge of becoming bad," the firelord said quietly thinking of all the documents.

"We'll handle it tonight and take a trip to the City tomorrow morning. You have to rest now. A bending battle wasn't the brightest idea, huh?," the airbender laughed.

They managed to make it half way across the ring until Tenzin can running to relieve them. He was wearing a smiple airebending tunic with the usual orange and yellow.

"Ah, Tenzin! Good to see you up and running. Sorry about that dynamic knockout. Just remember balance is key. Even in all the elements balance is key but more so in airbending," Aang said didactically putting on his transcendent-like persona.

"Yup, father. I got it. I wasn't patient enough either," said the young airbender placing himself in his uncle's place, "Let me help you Uncle Sokka."

Without protest the warrior gave his place to his nephew. Trialing close behind his taking out his sword to polish it until the black material sparkled.

"Tenzin, where did you put that packages that I asked you to pick up?" the firelord questioned lifting up his head to meet his gaze

"I left them in the kitchen. There are three of them like you told me."

"Good," the firebender said contently relaxing his head down as while his whole exhausted body as they scaled the final feet to the end of the arena.

* * *

><p>They shuffled noisily through the entrance of the porch plopping down the injured firelord on the closest couch that they could find.<p>

"They're back," Toph said unenthusiastically pacing through the opposite entryway.

"I was wondering where you went," responded Katara giving the earthbender a quizzical look at the sight of the eartherbender's angered appearance.

"I was perfecting my finishing move that proved unsuccessful against Twikle-toes over there. By the way, just so you know the right side of the island to totally destroyed," Toph laughed contently turning to the direction of the couch that Zuko was resting on.

"Oh, very funny, Toph! You know I have to live here!" Katara countered angrily.

The other two female warriors simply laughed at the sight of those two fighting and quietly got up from their seats and followed the two across the room to couch.

"Well I thought you died," Mai said sarcastically giving her husband a gentle kiss on his forehead, "What's hurting?"

Zuko looked up to lay his ember eyes on the firelady. Clearly pleased to see his wife as his whole face light up, "My whole body but mostly the left side of my back because it had taken most of the impact against the tree."

"Quit your whining Firepants! I got knocked out by Twikle-toes too," the eartherbender scorned folding her arms over her chest and stomping out of the porch into the darkening sky, "I'm going to practice some more."

"She will never change will she," the avater laughed showing his contagious smile.

The waterbender looked briefly up at her husband, nothing could get him down and she smiled silently to herself. "Here Zuko, flip on your back I'll relieve some of the pain." Katara swiftly opened her water skin and bent the water to encompass the surface of her hands. Placing her cool and soothing fingers on his back, the water began to glow a brilliant blue as an indication that the healing process has started. Almost instantly Zuko let out a relaxing moan, "You are definitely where it hurts. Thank you."

The waterbender looked up from her focus of the firebender's back to notice that the sun had dropped substantially since she looked before, "I have to start to make dinner soon. Look at the sun it is getting fairy late-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Aang spoke, "I'll take care of it. Just watch over Zuko for now with Mai. He needs to be healthy for tonight. Sokka and Suki you are going to help me to cook and as for you Tenzin, you should rest and tell your siblings that dinner will be ready in an hour or so."

"Wait?" Sokka said objectively dropping the rag he was using to polish his sword with, "You want me to cook? I don't even know how too!"

"Well you are to learn. They Say I a good teacher," chuckled the airbender as he left the room to the direction of the kitchen.

"Oh Sokka, how did I ever fall in love with you? Your such a goofball." the Kyoshi warrior mocked him as she followed the airbender to the direction of the kitchen.

"Yeah, Sokka I would get on that with your wife," Zuko laughed, "Going down hill pretty quickly."

They whole group laughed in unison at the bumbling warrior, "Fine!" the swordsman finally declared storming out of the room.

"It better be delicious Sokka!" teased Katara from her position beside Zuko. _Oh Brother, what a piece of work _she mused to herself. That only thing that worried her was looming thought of the uprising, but what really weighed down her heart was the thought of the eventual death of her husband and she shuttered at the thought of it. _Only two more weeks… Then what? _


	17. Realization

**A/N: Hey Everyone. Well I know that there are a handful of you guys that are reading my fanfic and I thank you and applaud you for sticking with me (and my horrible grammar). The only thing I ask is for you to leave a review after you read a chapter because if you don't I can't improve as a writer and that's no fun for anyone. You can also leave suggestions and anything else you want. Reviews give me purpose. On a separate note, Sorry for the small delay on chapter 16; I was at crew camp. Crew is rowing by the way for those of you that don't know what it is. Again, THANK YOU GUYS! YOU'RE AWESOME.**

**PS: Remember to R&R**

Chapter 17- Realization

The night was still young with a gentle breeze blowing from the east. It brushed through the open windows making the curtains wisp in the wind. It was a colder night then it was before and everyone, including the blind earthbender, moved into the central camber to warm up and partake in various card games and conversations. Zuko's back was healed in a mere half an hour due to Katara's supreme healing techniques; she was certainly a master healer.

The airbender worked silently in the kitchen beside Sokka occasionally giving the warrior an order or instruction but Suki was the one who was really running the show. They were making a simple beef stew; of course Aang would have the vegetarian version of this so his job was to chop and clean all the vegetables which consisted of beets, carrots, leechy nuts, onions and squash. The room quickly started to fill of the vagrant aroma of roasted meat as Sokka placed the beef into the boiling pot of broth over an open flame. Along with the lovely smells, the air was also filled with the constant shouting of Suki at Sokka, so the airbender remained silent and content in chopping the last of the squash.

Cutting and cleaning vegetables was not the only thing on Aang's mind. On the outside the monk looked calm and collective but within he was conflicted on telling the group of his secretly foretold death. He suddenly thought of his mentor, Monk Gyatso, who had once told him life was made of many things and came in two parts: life and death. Nothing truly ever dies, certainly their name can be forgotten, and their tale can be left to on the road but their love and spirit will never leave. _But the Avatar is special _the monk mused to himself _All Avatars are extremely different yet we are all one: all the same being. I am so blessed to be born again in new eyes for I get to learn what it truly means to be human in every life so that I will do anything in my power to protect it._ He exhaled and felt that the wind shifted pushing the smells faster around the room. _I hope _he said soundly to himself _that I had lived the life that I was given to the best that I could. I have had everything that I have ever dreamed of. I hope that I have redeemed myself from my mistakes as while as my past lives' mistakes to the ultimate goal of peace and balance. _The airbender looked up from his gloomy and obscure thoughts to discover the Kyoshi warrior yelling at Sokka again with the assistance of a wooden spoon. It was funny to him how loud Suki was yelling yet he couldn't hear any of it beforehand.

"I'm done cutting the Vegetables," Aang said simply holding up the tray towards Sokka and Suki

"Great! At least someone knows how to cook around here," Suki mocked Sokka. Taking the tray from the airbender, the warrior quickly incorporated the ingredients with the already boiling meat to catch as much of the flavor as possible into the brew, "This was the first thing that my mother taught me how to cook. She was a great lady and had a secret recipe for almost everything," Suki smiled at the thought of her long-deceased mother.

"I'm sure she did," Aang said while firebending the flames a little bit hotter.

"When is this going to be finished?" Sokka asked with a somewhat peeved expression on his face. He sat as far away from his wife opposite the fire with his arms crossed flatly over his chest.

"Oh, come on, Sokka! This isn't that bad. At least it will teach you some patience," Suki teased him only to successfully annoy the warrior even more, "Here if you're so bored you can stir the broth," she said passing the wooden spoon to him.

Aang got up from his position beside the fire to go fetch spices in a nearby cabinet, "You can leave if you want Sokka. I just thought it would be faster with three people and all."

"Ok, if you say so Aang. See you in a bit Suki," the warrior said happily more than eager in getting up from his seat to join in the games outside.

"You can never get enough of him," the airbender chuckled as he watched his friend disappear into the neighboring room, "You can leave too, Suki, if you want. I can watch the stew."

"Are you sure?" the Kyoshi warrior asked grabbing the spice from his hands and adding it to the pot, "I'll go give Katara a break with Zuko and try to keep a leash on that husband of mine."

The monk just nodded and rotated his hand lightly to swirling the broth in the pot by using his waterbending, "Yeah I just need a bit of quiet. It will be done in a half hour. Thanks Suki. I greatly appreciate your help with dinner and everything."

"For the Avatar, you're such a pushover but I'd do anything for a friend like you. I hope you know that," the warrior smiled as if to reassure him and turned toward the doorway, "I'll send Katara in, ok."

* * *

><p>Aang sat on the floor beside the pot in the quietness of the kitchen. He rested there in the lotus position trying to calm the paradoxes that tangled in his head. Every minute or so he would soundlessly twist his hand so the stew wouldn't burn. The monk wasn't thinking of any particular thing at the moment; his head was too jumbled to think what he needed was Katara. Suki probably could see it in his eyes; the cloudiness that she saw in him.<p>

"Aang?"

The airbender rotated his head to find the waterbender standing in the doorway. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked as the flames danced off her dark and creamy skin.

She laughed, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I was looking?" he said as innocently as he could manage, "I am sorry. You're just as stunning as you always are."

Katara smiled and quickly reduced the distance between them, "How do you do this to me. Make me feel this way? It's like you're magic," the waterbender giggled leaning her head on his shoulder as he stirred the stew once more.

This time the monk didn't answer and remained in a pensive mood keeping his focus on the pot. She lifted her head up slightly and tilted it to meet his eyes; she noticed how dark and confused they were.

"Aang, tell me what's bothering you," the waterbender requested in a soothing tone placing a comforting hand on his cheek turning his head toward hers.

Diverting his attention from the stew, the monk placed his tattooed hand over hers and stroked it softly with his thumb. He then leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. They remained in this embrace for a few moments longer until the Avatar spoke, "I have to tell them tonight."

"Are you sure that you should tell them?"

"Yes," the monk spoke in a small voice, "Better to tell about it earlier rather than dwell on it. When it is over we can focus on Tenzin's wedding and the uprising."

"You act as if it is just some chore to tell your friends that you are dying," the waterbender spoke but failed to maintain her earlier demeanor allowing the buried grief from before see the light of day. Tears began to run down her cheeks as she attempted to continue talking but nothing came out.

Aang quickly embraced his wife again, pulling her deeply into his body and cradling her head on his chest. He rocked her slowly back and forth kissing her softly on her forehead as he rested his head on top of hers.

"I wish I could take this sadness away from you," he said lightly stroking her brunette hair with his free hand, "I wish I could take this sadness away... " he repeated gently.

* * *

><p>The stew was served rather quickly as all the bowls were passed around the table. Everyone was given a healthy serving of the hearty stew. Everyone except Aang and Katara conversed about the events of the week but mostly they talked about the highlights of the previous battle and Aang's victory. The two just remained silent sitting next to one another taking small bites of their stew. The monk hadn't realized how hungry he was until his stomach released a low grumble. The last thing he had eaten was Katara's dumpling soup in the late morning but he couldn't succeed even in keeping a few bites down so he remained fiddling with his chopsticks. Katara was the same as well barely even laying a finger on her food.<p>

The monk looked up from his bowl to see the smiling faces of his friends and family. He didn't want to do it; he didn't want to tell them but something inside him was forcing him.

"I have something to say…" the Avatar spoke softly yet everyone in the room could hear him clearly. From the tone of the airbender's voice everyone shifted nervously in anticipation; he voice was very thoughtful yet firm.

"You haven't said a word all dinner," the firelord smiled, "What's on your mind?"

The gray huse of his eyes moved from Zuko to gaze at everyone else in the room. He exhaled deeply and laced his hand with his wife's under the table.

"I have an explanation for my earlier illness and coma," his facial expression did not change and the monk continued, "Due to me being in the iceberg for a century my life span is going to be cut short."

"What do you mean by _cut short_ dad?" asked Kya her cobalt eyes beginning to water

"I am 154 years old and my being in the iceberg did a number on my physical body. It is time for a new Avatar… What I am saying is… " the airbender hesitated for a brief moment, "I am dying."


	18. The Talk Around the Table

**A/N: April Fools! This actually isn't the next chapter...JK. Thanks you all for reading my fanfic. I am getting on average 500 views per month but the only thing I ask is for you guys to take a second and review please. I really want to improve on my writing and I need some form of feedback to do it so PLEASE REVIEW! Sorry I lied about reviewing every other day but I'm trying; life gets to be a little hectic with other work and what not. Well you know the drill: Please Read and REVIEW otherwise this is pointless and I'm writing for myself. Thanks!**

Chapter 18- The Talk around the Table

Silence encompassed the entire room as everyone stared at the Avatar absolutely stunned by his statement. The thick stillness was broken when Sokka began to gag on his mouthful of food pounding his chest heavily, "What?" was all the warrior could muster. The airbender grabbed his wife's hand a bit harder as he stared directly into the warrior's ice blue eyes. Tenzin and Rinzin sat calmly next each other not uttering a word; they just remained there looking at their hands as if they were the most interesting things in the whole world. The blind earthbender had no reaction; her face remained the same as she stared vaguely out into space but the pain she felt was emanate as she balled her hands into tight fists.

"Is this true, Dad?" questioned Kya as she fought through the tears that had begun to well up in her eyes

"Yes," Aang stated calmly taking a long, deep breathe

They all sat there in disbelief. They couldn't comprehend how the all-powerful Avatar could die because Aang's resilience always helped him to bounce back from everything.

"How do you know that this is true?" asked the concerned Firelord, "What am I to do about the uprising?"

The monk took another deep breath fighting hard against the lump that from in his throat, "I have known for a while now… and I should already be dead."

"Aang, shouldn't have you told us a little sooner?" Zuko asked angrily his ember eyes flaming up

"It's not of your concern, Zuko," the monk stated bluntly, "it's of the Avatars'."

Suddenly, Kya got up and left the room; her hands covered her face and wiped away her cascading tears. The airbender's eyes turned to land on the disappearing frame of his daughter. His sliver eyes were no longer stern but were filled with sorrow and sympathy towards his daughter. As the waterbender exited the central chamber, Rinzin had disappeared as well running after his older sister. His eyes descended from his fixed gaze on the exit to the table and then to his wife. The waterbender lips curved into a tiny but dejected smile and she understood. Her tanned hand rubbed against his and she tenderly kissed him on the cheek as she arose from her position beside him. Katara quickly stood up only to notice the silence of the room and left to the aid of her children.

The airbender repositioned himself more comfortably on his cushion as the wiegh of Katara was no longer there. He closed his eyes briefly and exhaled deeply through his nose.

"I can tell that you are telling the truth," stated Toph sadly not putting the effort in even looking towards his direction

The Firelord remained angered for he didn't know what to do about the uprisings and anything else for that matter that dealt with the world: he needed the Avatar, "What are going to do? And if you should already be died why are you alive now?" he asked frantically and he brought a hand to run through his grayed hair. Mai quickly wrapped a supporting arm on her husband's shoulders in an attempt to calm his current mental state.

"Aang, make some sense outta this please. How can you be dying if you beat everyone in the bending battle today?" begged Sokka who cupped his face in his hands.

"Well.." the monk slowly began, "two weeks before my coma I was contacted by Roku who informed me that my time on this earth was running to an end. The night before my coma Hei An, known as the spirit of the Shade, invaded my dreams. He foretold my death. I was supposed to die right there an then during my coma; my body seemed as if it was fighting against me. I couldn't breathe anymore as if there was a weight on my chest and my heartbeat became sporadic. I was in the the area between the physical world and spirit world for the majority of the time. It is known as the Zhi jian, the in between, and I was well aware that I was dying. I saw everything flash before my eyes. I fought the spirit for many days begging him to grant me more time. He only responded by laughing," he paused to think of what to say next and then continued, "Everyone is given a set amount of time in this world. My time was wasted when I was in the sealed in the iceberg. I had stolen time from Hei An and that had angered him greatly. I had eventually won the struggle against him and he gave me two more weeks in return for a brutal and painful death."

"Why would you do that, Dad?" asked Tenzin in a small but sightly annoyed voice

Aang looked up puzzled at his son. He had been so quiet he almost forgot his presence in the room. Then the monk remembered their recent talk before the coma and his reaction.

"I have my reasons," he said directly to his son, "At first it was for selfish reasons," the monk stated truthfully, "I could not let go. I could not just leave. There just so much to lose: my family and my friends. In doing this, I was directly violating Air Nomad custom by having all these earthly attachments but I did not care. Talking to my past life, Avatar Yangchen, when I was a young boy, I learned that the Avatar could never detach its spirit in order to reach enlightenment and ultimate freedom. For its duty and sole purpose is to the world," the monk was only talking to his son but the rest listened and basked in his understanding and wisdom of the world. The airbender took another long and lingering breath and continued "It may be hard to believe but I am not immortal and I have died once before. I have learned many things of my duty to the world. The Avatar spirit became human to find out what it means to be human so it will to do anything to protect it. We learn the meaning of being human in every life and make many mistakes along the way. And trust me son, I have made countless mistakes, so yes at first it was for selfish reasons, Tenzin. I wanted to see you get married."

"What are the other reasons, Aang?" asked Suki, who was in fact crying.

"The uprising," the Avatar stated frankly. The sadness formed in his throat again as he looked at his sister-in-law and the grief was ever so present in her face. He gulped hard to push through the pain that lived in his heart and continued forward, "I have a bad feeling about this and I fear that it will be the problem of the next of Avatar."

"Aang, how do you know this? Did you have a vision or something?" the Firelord asked concernedly obviously calmer than was before. Aang understood his friend very well for Zuko's principal reaction is anger, "We have to deal with it or move it to a controllable level."

"I know. We are going to the City tomorrow to face it directly but we are not fighting; I just want to talk and find out there grievances. I just have this feeling in the base of my stomach that the problem may appear to go away but then it seems to linger, flourish and came back."

"Ok, Aang, but are you healthy enough to even be doing this. I mean you're going to die in two weeks!" Sokka shouted as if to help the shocking news of the looming death of his best friend sink in more but it seemed that nothing helped the warrior; he was too heartbroken.

"I'll be fine, Sokka. I have to give the remains of life to the world and if I die early so be it," the monk said gloomily as he stated his self sacrifice.

The warrior looked at his friend. He seemed so far away as if he couldn't touch him anymore. It felt like centuries ago when they were happy and enjoying their dinner. Sokka couldn't face the fact that his friend was dying. _What about, Katara? _He subconsciously asked in his head as he always cared and highly respected his sister. _She must of known about this and feeling ten times the pain that I am. _He took one long, shaky breathe to clear his unpleasant thoughts from his mind.

"I trust you, Aang," the warrior stated wholeheartedly

"As do I," the Firelord chimed

"As do all of us," stated Suki, Toph and Mai

The young airbender, who resided in the back of the room stayed silent and remained looking at his tattooed hands. Tenzin did not voice it but he respected, cherished and believed in his father very much. There was just too much pain and sadness running throughout his body that it was difficult for him speak and voice his opinions. Along with the grief there was a huge surge of the feeling of responsibility; he had to live up to his father's legacy. He sighed in discontentment but mustered up the strength to tilt his head and look his father in the eyes. He was surprised to meet his; they were so full of love and compassion.

The Avatar continued his talk for few hours longer, informing all of them what to do after he was gone. Most importantly he told them his wishes for the next Avatar that he was certain would heir from the Southern water tribe.

* * *

><p>Outside the air seemed colder than it really was. The breeze blew of their backs and swirled around their bodys only to remind them of their father. The waterbender ran as fast as she could. She couldn't take it her heart was about to burst and shatter into a million pieces. She wished that her husband were there with her, comforting her and holding her in his strong arms. He had only left the day before to travel back to their home in the Northern Water tribe. He needed to relive his mother of nuisance of their two sons, Pu-tai and Yuan. She desired to hold her two boys in her arms but there was nothing but air in front of her: she was alone.<p>

She sat at the edge of the island overlooking the brilliant glow of the Republic City as the lights reflected and bounced off the waters of the bay. The waterbender cupped her face in her hands crying silently to herself. She started to tremble uncontrollably losing all the stability she once had. Then she felt the warm arms of her brother engulf her in a sincere and heartfelt hug. He pulled her deeply into his chest, cupping her head as if it were fragile treasure and slowly rocked her back and forth to calm her. He was crying silently too as embraced his sister; there was also a whole in his heart.

"Shh… you're ok, Kya. Dad will be alright," Rinzin whispered rhythmically to the waterbender as he swayed back and forth.

Then breeze felt even colder now.

After a few moments, Kya had stopped her trembling and relaxed into her brother's body as she rested her head on his chest. He wipped his away their tears with his free hand and sniffed loady.

"He is really going be gone isn't he?" Kya said in a small voice as if she didn't want anyone else to hear

The other waterbender just awkwardly hummed in agreement and sadly nodded his head. His gray eyes just focused on the ground as he released his sister from his embrace. They sat side by side with their shoulder's touching; there legs dangling over the edge of the cliff. Sadness was still evident in their faces.

"I missed my big sis a lot. All the crazy things we did when we were little in the Southern Air Temple," Rinzin laughed softly trying to bring up happier memories

"Yeah, I missed you too Rinzin," the waterbender said sincerely, "Life just seems to make us go our separate ways doesn't it?"

They rested there silently for a few moments longer until they heard the quiet sound of their mother's footsteps crunching against the grass. She swiftly took a seat next to them; her moments were obviously unrestricted by her old age.

"I'm sorry…" the older waterbender voiced with visual sadeness writing across her face, "I wish I could take this sadness away from all of us but it unavoidable."

"Don't be sorry, Mother," Rinzin soothed placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "We all love him."

"Your Father is a great and wonderful man," Katara continued, "He accomplished so many things in his lifetime and helped so many people despite all the mistakes that he had made. He was merely a boy when I first meet him but he displayed wisdom of old man and I knew he was special from the moment I saw him. I remember my grandmother, your great-grandmother, told me stories of the Avatar and how he maintained the balance of the world. I was the only one to believe that he would come back though," the waterbender looked down at her hands and paused remembering the dark memories of the war, "The world back then was a totally different place; despair and terror lived in everyone's heart due the cause of the father nation. My mother was killed and my hope was dwindling. Your father brought life and happiness back into the world. He showed me how to be a kid again," she laughed remembering the time they had went penguin sledding, "He had a natural talent to bending already deemed a master of air when he was twelve. In a year's time he learned to master the other three elements under the teachings of Zuko, Toph and me. And at the end of the summer he had flourished to become fully recognized Avatar as he defeated Ozai and mastered the Avatar State."

Katara continued telling the story in great detail to her two children about all their adventures, victories and shortcomings; most particularity the battle of the Crystal Catacombs.

The breeze seemed to die down and the words of their mother comforted the two considerably, looking at there father in a new light.


	19. Questions and Answers

**A/N: Hey Everyone! Thanks for still sticking with me! Please (I cannot stress this enough) REVIEW so I know what I need to improve and get rid of. Anyway The Legend of Korra comes out in 10 days (less than two weeks) get pumped! Will I hope you enjoy this chapter because I think it's really touching. Anyway in my first regatta of the season we sweep the other team (sweep= win all the events. Regatta= boat race) Thank you to all the read. Enjoy and please REVIEW! **

Chapter 19- Questions and Answers

The group conversed for hours upon end in the main camber and the night was quickly growing old. The only ones left in the chamber now were the Firelord and Avatar; the rest went to recover in their rooms.

"I should apologize for my reaction earlier," the Firelord casually stated pulling the loose strains of hair out of his face, "There's just a lot going on."

"You don't need to apologize, Zuko. You react that way with almost anything I tell you," the Airbender joked releasing a low rumbling yet tired laugh from his chest. Indeed, there was a lot of 'things' going on that preoccupied him for him not to notice how exhausted he was.

The Firelord joined him as well in the laugh; there was so much tension in the air from what they previously dicussed. Aang was informing what they should do after his death. His golden eyes wondered across the table to his friend. Once, long ago, his entire aim in life was to capture him in order to restore his long-lost honor. He laughed silently at the thought; he was so confused back then. "You should go to bed. We have a lot to do tomorrow," Zuko said honestly who stood up and extended out his hand to the Airbender.

The monk nodded solemnly and accepted his request by grabbing his hand.

"I see you in the morning then…" the Firelord trailed off as he disappeared down the hallway.

The airbender again nodded almost not hearing Firelord as he was left alone deep his thoughts. He stood there in the center room staring down at his tattooed feet and exhaled deeply. He ears perked up to a small noise and his eyes landed on the silhouette a beautiful woman.

"You should go to bed, you know…you look tired," she said simply

The edges of his lips curved subtly as he stared across the room at this mysterious figure, "I should…" he agreed in a weary but amorous voice. He pivoted as he shifted his weight onto his heels and the monk swiftly decreased the distance from her. He bound his hands securely around her slender waist and pulled her deeply into his body. She melted into him and her head comfortably rested on his chest while he relaxed his on hers. Time seemed as if didn't matter and they remained locked in there in the embrace for what seemed like an entirety.

Every time he saw her, it was like falling in love with her all again. He loved her so much that his heart couldn't even express it. She was the one that was always there beside him; she was his home, his strong place.

He gently clutched her silky hair between his fingers. The monk was mesmerized at how elegantly it cascaded from his fingertips. He breathed deeply and kissed the tip of her forehead, "I love you…" he whispered tenderly

"I love you too, Aang," she responded as she pushed her head deeper into his chiseled chest attempting to mask her falling tears. She instinctively listened to the drumming of his heartbeat and how it usually soothed her, "I'm going to miss you," she said almost inaudibly. She laughed at herself; she had been so strong in front of her children but with him her wall just seems to crumble to the ground.

He felt her tremble under his arms but it was too dark to see her tears stain his robes, but he knew that she was crying, "You're alright, Katara… I'm right here…" he soothed her as he affectionately rubbed her back, "I'm here right now… and I love you… and that's all that matters…"

She grieved for a few moments longer until the airbender asked her to watch the stars with him and she gratefully accepted his invitation.

The night was as breezy as it was before but the couple didn't care and took pleasure in each other's warmth as they laced their fingers together. They walked silently through the brush not uttering a single word until they reached their destination. They always watched the stars from the same spot on the beach when they were at the Sanctuary.

They laid down restfully cuddling one another in their warmth; Katara nested her head on Aang's chest as he held her snuggly in his strong arms. The sky was particularly clear as the starlight beamed down.

"I want you to teach me waterbending," Aang said suddenly breaking the silence

She tilted her head to stare deeply into his sliver eyes, "I thought you'd never ask," she said lightheartedly yet there was evident sadness in her voice

"Good, I wouldn't want any other teacher," he said sympathetically kissing the top of her head again

The silence returned once again as they remained locked in each other's arms. The two were obviously exhausted but they couldn't find sleep.

"Aang…" Katara started up

"Hmmm..?" the airbender responded through his daze

"Why can't I die with you? Why do I have to be the one left behind?" asked the waterbender in a firm tone

"You shouldn't die because of me," he stated quickly, "You have so much more of it to live…"

"But without you how do I live life, Aang? You are my life," the waterbender countered

This forced the airbender to sit up but Katara remained securely resting on his chest. The question hit the monk hard and he didn't know how to respond. _Why do I have to be the one left behind?_ The words echoed in his head. This immediately brought him back to when he was 27. He was forced to leave Katara at the Southern Air with Kya, who was five at the time, while she was pregnant with Rinzin. She had to be the one left behind. The separation absolutely killed him. He thought of his family every time he closed his eyes at night and every time he opened them in the morning. His mission was to neutralize a fire nation rebel base from the inside so he had to go under cover; he couldn't send letters to his family. He remembered growing out his hair to a considerable length as well as his beard and looked nothing like the person he was before. He was gone for the duration of 8 months and sadly had missed most of Katara's pregnancy. He sighed at the thought of the pain that he felt when he was separated from his family and thought of his once little girl. He looked up at the stars and recollected a conversation he had with one of the rebels while scrubbing a floor. The monk recalled that she was a stout woman with riveting look in her eyes:

"_Do you have a family?" she asked him as she pushed the water around with her sponge_

"_Yes," replied the monk in a tiny voice_

"_A wife or what?" she asked quite rudely_

_The monk wasn't at all taken back by this; it was just the woman's pushy personality."Yes, I'm married," he responded again in tiny voice_

"_Do you talk any louder than scorpion-bee?" she teased him, "Children?"_

"_Yes, I have a daughter and one on the way…" he dawdled off into thought_

"_I suppose that you miss them…" the woman trailed off in a quiet voice which was abnormal for her character_

_He remember looking up and seeing the sadness in her eyes; the riveting look that defined her was no longer present, "Do you have family?" the monk suddenly felt slip from his lips_

"_I did but they were killed in the war," she said sullenly, "I wasn't there to save them…"_

_He froze in stance from her statement. And she continued, "My mother died when I was born. I had a brother and father who both were ranking officers in Firelord Ozai's royal army. They were killed by a surprise attack from Earth Nation Nationalists when they were traveling to reinforce the troops that were stationed at Omashu… This is why I joined this group. Those Earthbender pigs deserve to die! And now we are aligned with them…Ugh! this country is thrown to the pigs!" she shouted in disgust. Her eyes bounced around the room, "I've always been the one left behind."_

_Shock again ran through his body as he registered the thought of his wife and how she felt. He could relate to the woman because of the lost he had faced with the genocide of his people. Everyone he had known and loved was ruthlessly murdered and he was the one that was left behind. The discomfort and culpability surged through his veins. He dropped his sponge and looked directly into the girl's eyes, "I know that your hurt and I have lost many loved ones as well… in essence I've been in your shoes and I've in fact been left behind. I can see that you live with the guilt every day and bare it heavily on your shoulders. They are still here all around us. Your family wants you to live for them, but violence in never the answer to their deaths because it only leads to more pain and hate. "_

_The girl gave him a quizzical expression at his final statement, "Then why are you here in this group? Aren't you mad?"_

_Aang hadn't realized what he had said could of possibly blown his cover and quickly thought on his toes, "I am still angry but I'm no fighter…I just learned this from experience" he thought of something more to say but nothing came to mind._

"_You're a curious guy, you know…" she said taking up her usual assertive demeanor_

"_You don't have to get revenge from anyone…" he continued, "They still live in your heart."_

_She got up from her position on the floor carrying her bucket full of soapy water behind her and smiled, "Thank you, Sir."_

_He simply slimed back at her looking up from his spot on the floor. Sadly, the monk didn't even ask the woman her name and it immediately brought him to the thought of his family._

The airbender sighed letting that memory flow from his attention. Now he needed to answer her question.


	20. Transitions

**A/N: Well 20 chapters already! Get excited a week left until the premiere of The Legend of Korra. Please Read and REVIEW. You guys give me purpose. In this chapter the plot really begins. Thanks you for reading and enjoy.**

Chapter 20- Transitions

His feet tiredly glided off the cool floorboards as he navigated the darken corridor. The Firelord shifted awkwardly into the darkness of the room laying his golden eyes on a sleeping figure. He desperately tried to be as quite as possible but it was useless; Mai was already up and waiting for him.

"So you're back. I thought you'd never come to bed," the Firelady groaned the sleepiness heavily slurring her words

"Yes, sorry about waking you up," Zuko apologized taking his rightful place next to her. His pale hands gently inched up her willowy waist and pulled her into his body.

"You didn't if that's what you're wondering."

Silence captured the room as the couple laid deeply in each other's arms. He released low and shallow breathes as he watched Mai's head bobbed up in down from the expansion of his chest.

"Mai?" Zuko whispered to his fatigued wife

"Hmmmm….?"

"I don't have a good feeling about tomorrow. I know that those nationalists will never talk…all they want to do is fight…" the firelord stated in a rough voice

"I suppose we'll just have to see in the morning… there's no use in worrying about it now. You work too hard," Mai muttered positively and with that she climbed up to give her husband a loving kiss on the lips; this something that he was waiting for the whole night.

* * *

><p>He felt his body shift uneasily under her weight and cleared his throat to speak, "I've already left you once due to my duties and I'll never leave you again," he turned her so that her crystal eyes stared directly into his, "Katara, don't <em>ever<em> think that I'm leaving you behind. I'll never leave you," he gently moved his tattooed hand to cover her heart, "I'll always be right there… always."

She nodded timidly showing the airbender that she understood but sadness was still spawn across her features. He gingerly grabbed her waist pulling her towards his core and affectionately locked his lips with hers. He swept his tongue to search the contents of her mouth which were both warm and inviting. The couple went on like this for a few moments longer until they were forced to take a breath.

"I'll always be there…" the monk sounded both enthralled by the kiss but exhausted none the less

"I missed you. I missed you when you were gone all those years ago. That was hard… but this will be different…" the waterbender trailed off in her thoughts. She tried to close her eyes and let the darkness numb the pain that she felt but it was inescapable: he would be gone soon.

"That was long ago… and I wish that I could give you and our family every part of me but I can't, Katara. I just can't…A part of me belongs to world and you know that, but just understand this: I'll never _leave _you again. Never in a million years," the monk stated sincerely from the bottom of his heart, "we'll do this together, I promise."

She exhaled deeply letting his words sink in. Her small hands clutched his orange, silky robes and she lifted her eyelids slowly to reveal her striking blue eyes, "I'm sorry…." The waterbender let slip from her lips

"Don't be…" airbender said meaningfully tucking the loose strains of her hair behind her ear. The monk laughed a little in attempt to cheer her up, "Let's just enjoy the stars together alright?"

She smirked at him looking at his contagious smile and his stone colored eyes and she instantly felt better. The night was as clear as it was before and the couple fell asleep in the arms of their true love.

* * *

><p>The sunbeams gradually filtered into the room through the half-opened windows. His eyes gradually flounced open while he simultaneously released sigh from his throat. At first his vision was foggy and unclear due to the dim glow of the room but his eyes quickly acclimated. He didn't stir from his position and remained looking up at the ceiling. For a few moments he examined the ceiling noting every tiny abnormality but he failed to find any. Eventually he got bored and looked over to the women sleeping beside him.<p>

_Today's the day…_ he thought soundlessly…_ Funny, I'm never the first one up_

He swiftly transposed his body to lay on its side propping his head up with his hand and used the other to softly rest on the shoulder of the sleeping women.

The warrior then started to mildly shake her shoulder in attempt to wake her up, "Suki…" the warrior whispered "It's time to get up…"

Sokka was happy to see his results as her face revealed a small smile and she slightly opened her dark green eyes, "You know you're never the first one up…"

"Yeah, I know. Is it a bad thing?" Sokka asked sarcastically

"No. It's just one of the many things that I love about you," the Kyoshi warrior answered giving her husband a quick peck on the nose. She slipped her body out of the covers and started to dress in her traditional Kyoshi warrior outfit, "We better go see if everyone else is up."

"Yeah," the warrior agreed pulling his pants on. He walked across the room to where he placed his sword. He swiftly pulled the cover off it and suddenly an unpreventable feeling of grief manifested in his stomach. He was remembering what they were discussing last night which left a bad taste in his mouth, "Suki… Aang is dying…"

He started to break out in a cold sweat as the memories rushed through his head. The warrior simply couldn't believe that his best friend, who was his best man, was in fact dying. _He's the all-powerful Avatar, Aang could always pull through…_ he thought _I...I just can't believe it._

"Sokka… don't dwell on that for too long," she placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "I doubt Aang would like that. It's going to be difficult but we're just going to have to get use it…" the Kyoshi warrior comforted him

He nodded letting the negative thoughts flow from his mind, "You're right, Suki. Let's just go wake everyone up. We have a long day ahead of us." The warrior quickly shifted his sword and attached it to his belt along with his boomerang. The once dim glow grew to be a bright radiance as the couple left in silence.

They walked side by side down the hallway to the main chamber where the kitchen was located.

"Well, I see that you two are ready," the Firelord said in a glad but hoarse voice. Zuko always seemed tense about something but today Sokka could visibly see the apprehension in his body as he sat at the kitchen room table.

"You look a little tense today Zuko," the warrior indicated concernedly

"He's fine," Mai clamed the two, who was sitting beside Zuko, "He didn't sleep well last night."

"I could imagine… there's a lot going on," Suki added

The firelord nodded recalling everything that they need to do today. He rubbed his forehead with his hand while freeing a substantial sigh from his chest.

"I would appreciate it if you would wake everyone up for me except for Aang's kids. Don't ask why he told me that they need to remain in the sanctuary for some reason."

"Sure Zuko," the warrior agreed, "Suki you can stay here and enjoy breakfast. I'll be back in a minute."

The warrior started to walk down the opposite hallway were Toph was residing only to stop in his tracks, "And you guys better not eat all the food!" Sokka shouted across the room acting like his normal self. The three laughed at the swordsman's comment as the watched him vanish into the hallway.

* * *

><p>His eyes shot open to perceive a ghostly figure in front of him. The man wore traditional fire nation clothing with a long flowing white bread and a top not held by of artifact of the crowned prince.<p>

"Roku?" the monk spoke his entire attention focused on his figure, "What is it?"

"Aang, listen to me. You have to be decisive or a great storm will come," the former Avatar spoke and faded away into nothingness.

The sun blinded him as his figure disappeared. His eyes slowly adjusted to the light forcing him to bring his free hand to cover his face. The airbender was in daze not remembering where his was. Suddenly he felt the weight on his chest and discovered the beautiful sleeping master waterbender and recalled where they were. He looked down at Katara _she's so beautiful _he mused absentmindedly only to be brought back to reality when he thought of what his past life just had told him. Roku had always told him that same advice and the airbender was undeniably confused but took his past life's advice under consideration. _A great storm _the words echoed in his head and a foreboding sense formed a lump in his throat.

"Katara…" he chimed softly into her ear, "We have to get up… Roku just contacted me"

The waterbender immediately opened up her eyes, "What did he say?"

"I am not sure. It was a quick visit; it only lasted a few seconds. He expressed to me his usual advice of being decisive. Then he told me that if I wasn't a storm will come…" the airbender spoke quickly, "I'm afraid this uprising won't be like the others. I've had this feeling for a while."

Katara propped herself up and sat cross-legged beside her husband, "That's interesting. We'll figure this out when we get to the city… as for now maybe we should get back; everybody is probably wondering where we are."

The airbender nodded and smiled helping his wife to her feet. He tilt hiss head down to her and angled his lips giving her a loving morning kiss. They broke away and stared deeply into another's eyes, "I forgot to tell you how beautiful you look this morning," the avatar said sweetly, "And whatever happens today we'll get through it together."

She smiled a big smile allowing her cobalt eyes to sprinkle in the sunlight and granted the monk another affectionate kiss.

"I love you, Aang," she said simply

"I love you too, Katara," he replied

The sun was rising higher and higher in the sky as the couple departed hand in hand from the beach. Time was slowly ticking away.

* * *

><p>"I can't find them anywhere!" Sokka shouted throwing his hands in the air out of frustration, "Aang knew he had to <em>be<em> here."

Zuko was about to lose it right there. He clutched the edges of the table tightly, "Aghhh… let's not hope it's one of his disappearances again."

A certain earthbender didn't seem vexed at all and nonchalantly reclined in her chair. She smirked and pointed her arm toward the door, "Knock it off, you knuckleheads they're right here." The warrior and the Firelord looked up to see two figures making their way to the kitchen.

"Oh, thank the spirits," the irritated Firelord mumbled under his breathe. The group then gathered their belongings and made their way to the door.

The Avatar and the waterbender slowly traversed the brush of the beach whispering little incoherent tidbits to one another. The airbender looked up from his gaze on his wife to discover the group of people assembled under the frame of the doorway.

"I didn't think you remembered," the Firelord said irritably. He paused and suggested, "We'd all better leave now."

The monk nodded in agreement and they quickly collected their things. Aang needed to change due to his pants being charred from his duel with Zuko the day before and put on a more pragmatic robe that was both formal and suitable for fighting whereas everyone else wore their simple everyday attire.

It was about midmorning when the gaang loaded up onto Appa's back and headed to the major port of the City. The sky was as clear as the day before and there wasn't a cloud in the sky which both excited Aang and Appa.

"Where are Tenzin, Rinzin and Kya? Aren't they coming?" Katara asked Aang as she seat next to him on Appa's head

"No. I told Sokka not to wake them. I've told Tenzin what to do and they're running the Sanctuary in our absence. Anyways Tenzin has a wedding to focus on and I think they all need their sleep," Aang responded quietly not taking his eyes off the approaching city

There was a pause and Katara started up again, "So who exactly are we looking for?"

"His name is Kurai. Kurai Utsu."

**A/N: So who is this Kurai Utsu you say? Well you'll have to see in the next chapter. A storm is certainly brewing… Stay tuned and please review!**


	21. Wanted

**A/N: Here's another one for you guys. I hope you enjoy it. I just wanted to say that I love you guys for reading my stuff but I NEED you guys to REVIEW because then I can improve my writing a ton! Anyways I hope all of you had a wonderful Easter/Passover or whatever you guys celebrate. R & R**

Chapter 21- Wanted

There were people everywhere you turned. They were selling fish, cleaning boats, street dancers, fruit venders, clock manufacturers, automobile makers, constructions workers and architects; Republic city was undoubtedly a busy and upbeat metropolis.

They flew over the major port of the city and were heading to the justice tower where Toph's daughter, Chief Linhua Bei Fong- commonly known as Lin- worked. The Airbender smiled as he stole looks at the city below and how it neared his dream for it. The monk envisioned a land where everyone could live in peace and harmony not depending on their background, race or nationality. But as he looked closer he still saw the poverty and struggle. He sighed silently to himself: they have made much progress but there was still a long way to go.

He gently pulled on Appa's reins to land the flying bison on the side of plaza in front of the entranceway of the enormous justice building. It was in fact one of the oldest buildings in Republic city and was constructed under Toph's command for she was the first metalbender and Chief of Police. The Airbender recalled telling Toph to retire a few years back and how he appointed her daughter for the job. He was proud of her work; she has been maintaining the city almost better than her mother had.

"Ahh… It's good to be back here!" the blind earthbender shouted in excitement, "I get to 'see' my Linny too."

She quickly jumped off the saddle. As she landed she hit the earth hard with her right foot so it would give way under her weight and cushion her fall. She dusted herself off and proceeded toward the entrance of the building.

"Aren't you coming?" she yelled back at the rest of the group who were at the time climbing out of the saddle. The earthbender didn't realize how fast she was walking; she hadn't seen her daughter in over six months and her heart longed to feel her vibrations again.

"We're coming! Go on ahead yourself!" shouted the monk across square. With the aid of airbending he gently landed on the concrete ground. He then extended his hand out towards his wife and helped her to the ground as well.

"Are you guys ready?" the Avatar asked. Zuko, Mai, Sokka, Katara and Suki all just smiled and nodded and they were off on yet another adventure.

As they walked through the plaza, bystanders and strangers all glimpsed in awe at the sight of the Avatar and his friends which none the less consisted of some of the most able and capable people in the world. The monk simply smiled and bowed at the strangers as a symbol of respect and humility. It only took the group a few moments to traverse the plaza and they entered through the giant swinging doors.

"Ahh.. Avatar Aang and friends; Chief Bei Fong has been expecting you. As well as the former Chief Bei Fong," the man dress in a policed uniform said pleasantly.

"You know Shu you don't have to address me as Avatar Aang every time you see me. You can just call me Aang," the airbender said as equally agreeable

The man merely nodded in his request and showed them to the newly installed elevators. Amazedly they weren't run by earthbenders anymore but entirely on steam energy. It was similar to the steam power that the people used at the Northern Air Temple where the hot air lifts does all the work.

"Wow, this is absolutely amazing," Aang said in awe as they all shuffled into the small space of the elevator. The Avatar was most likely the greatest dumbfounded by all the technology since when he was a kid 140 years ago at the Southern Air Temple nothing like that was even possible. Katara merely giggled at her husband's curiosity; it was like he was 12 again.

"Aang pay attention. We have a mission here," the Firelord stated sternly trying to refocus the distracted Avatar

"I can have fun can't I? I'm just enjoying myself," the monk laughed, "You know my time is running short."

The Firelord just shot the Avatar an annoyed look and flatted out the wrinkles in his tunic. Suddenly, a loud ding sounded and the heavy doors of the elevator glided opened.

"Well you guys finally made it!" yelled Toph from across the communication level of the Justice building. Her daughter quickly shadowed her as she went to go greet her friends, "Well, you knuckleheads know my daughter Lin."

"Hello. It's great to see you all," Lin said with a pleasurable smile as she readjusted her armor, "So how are all. And how are my cousins?"

They all exchanged welcomes for a few moments longer but work need to be done. Lin led the group to a secure conference room where a large table was located. They all quickly took their seats and got right down to business.

"Did you contact Utsu?" the Firelord asked first

"Yes… but he doesn't seem like he wants to talk…" the metalbender hesitated for a moment and then spoke again up, "He has threatened us multiple times. It's rumored that he is mounting an attack on the east side of the city, but every time it's just small scale attack where he assaults and kills a few people and then dissappears. We don't know if his trying to send a message or what but I promise you I've got my best on this case."

"How many has he killed?" the Avatar inquired firmly

"At least a dozen and a half…and at least fifty or more injured…" Lin reported sadly

"That's too many…" Aang grunted angry standing up from his seat. He hit the table hard and commanded, "Contact him right now. I want to talk to him right now!"

"Calm down, Aang," comforted Katara grabbing his wrist, "I doubt that would be a good idea. We don't know how many numbers he has."

Lin sat passively across the group, "Katara's right Aang. We don't know what exactly were dealing with here. They haven't showed all their strength."

He exhaled deeply but remained standing, "My job is to insure the safety of the people; when this guy is running around killing innocent people that crosses the line, Lin. I don't care how you get him; I want to talk to him now."

"I agree with twinkle-toes. I think this issue should be dealt with head on," settled Toph.

"I don't agree with that," advised Sokka, "Aang this guy is obviously neurotic. You don't know what kind of trick his going to pull."

"I think we should track his group movements more so that we could find if there's a pattern in what his doing," added Suki

"But then more people will get harmed," Aang said curtly, "I'll give you two hours to contact him, Lin. If he doesn't show we'll go after him and shut his 'uprising' down."

"Ok. I'll give you all the files that I have on him. In the meantime, my mother can show you around. I have other work to attend to but I will communicate to you as soon as possible if he responds," the metalbender stated and swiftly escaped the room through the sliding door leaving the group alone.

"Zuko, tell me everything you know about this guy," the monk insisted strongly

"Well I know his full name is Kurai Noma Ustu. He is a remarkable earthbender with amazing talent and skill. His father Kai Ustu was a former Dai Li agent for King Kuei the second and his grandfather was a general during the hundred year war. His grandfather, General Ustu, wasn't a famous one and lost the earth kingdom providence of Yu Dao, which was the first fire nation colony, in the early stages of the war. Well you know that Republic City was in fact the old fire nation colony of Yu Dao, so this is most likely why Utsu is so hell-bent on this city."

The group listened intently on the Firelord's words as Zuko continued.

"I've heard his is somewhat of a sinister character and will do just about anything to get what he wants. I believe he's around the age of 35 but I'm unsure of it. That's really all I know about him."

The monk remained silent in his seat contemplating on what he should do; he needed to be decisive. Suddenly the door burst open. Surprised that it had only been a total of twenty minutes, Lin had communicated with and located Kurai Utsu and within seconds the monk was out the door.


	22. Elusive Thought

**A/N: Hey everyone! It's Coolera again! I got to admit it gets pretty heated in this chapter. There's a cute brotherly moment in there with Tenzin and Rinzin. Reminder, remember Nuna. Well it's Rinzin's love interest. Oh, I watched the actual premiere of the Legend of Korra and I was so excited for it to be on TV! I can't wait for the next episode cause I have watched the first two about a hundred times. I mean they're awesomw but I need a new episode. Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW. Otherwise, if you don't review I'm basically writing to myself (creepy huh?). Thanks! **

Chapter 22- Elusive Thought

His eyes opened to a familiar room: it was his room, but not the one he had grown up in. He sighed deeply recalling all the memories of his childhood at the Southern Air Temple; how he and his sister and brother used to roam the twisting hallways forever playing whatever game that popped in their heads. He lifted his torso to an upright position and brought his knees to meet his chest.

He then cleared his head to a nothingness only to think of his father's laugh and how it filled always the whole room with happiness. _I guess he's really going to be gone_ the waterbender thought sullenly to himself. Instantly, he forcibly closed his gray eyes in an attempt to let the negative thought move from his attention and simultaneously flung his legs off the edge of the bed.

He shifted his weight onto his heals and walked to the direction of his closet. He wore a simple southern water tribe outfit that his uncle Sokka had given to him for his birthday a few years back and preceded to the doorway.

Halfway out the door, an impulsive feeling of grief -which he had so desperately tried to avoid- flushed over him. The waterbender felt like as if there was a bottomless whole in his chest and brought his hands to his heart to try to release the constricting pain. Eventually the sadness increased to the point where he couldn't hold up his body weight anymore. His ankles fell weak and he submitted to the pain of his broken heart. He supported himself against the wall and slumped down to his knees weeping openly: he had been keeping his grief locked up inside him. He had been strong for his sister but this pain that he was feeling now was excruciating and unbearable: his father, the man who he respected, loved and dreamed to become, was dying.

Rinzin didn't know how long he stayed there for time just seemed irrelevant and useful. Streams of warm water rolled down his cheeks as he cupped his face with his hands. It came to a point where the waterbender couldn't produce tears anymore and simply remained frozen staring blankly at the wooden floor. He thought of his life and how he could make his father proud, and then he thought of Nuna. He had only met her two years ago when he was beginning his training with the swampbenders. He never believed his father in his claims about true love, but when he saw her something inside him changed. Thinking of her provided him strength and he rose from his position on the ground. The hole in his chest was still there but he knew it wasn't going to kill him; he knew his father wouldn't want it that way. Quickly, he dried his moist face and continued down the hallway.

* * *

><p>His orange robe flashed in the sunlight as the he attentively shadowed the metalbender across the plaza. His facial structures were focused with an unshakable look of resolve and audacity; this injustice needed to be stopped.<p>

"Lin, tell me where we are going," the airbender said firmly

"To the sixth district of the city, in other words the east side," Lin responded motioning to the other guards to roundup the cars

"We can just take Appa," the Avatar stated, "We'll get their faster."

"No. Utsu specifically stated not to bring your flying bison or he wouldn't show. We are going to have to use cars, Sorry Aang."

By now, the rest of the group had managed to make it outside and they were all waiting patiently beside the Airbender. The monk looked visually upset that he couldn't take Appa and found it to be quite odd. Katara stood particularly close him holding his hand gently. Suddenly, two noisy cars pulled up to curb with a screeching stop.

"Why are there only two cars? There's not enough room for everyone," Zuko stated angrily

"Is there something you're not telling us Lin?" added Sokka who crossed his arms defensively over his chest

The metalbender's shoulder's slumped a bit indicating the news that she was about to reveal to be undesirable.

"Lin, just tell us the truth," Toph said in a somewhat sympathetic tone

"He only wants to talk to Aang. The rest of you unfortunately have to stay here," the metalbender revealed sadly, "Otherwise, he won't show."

"Why didn't you inform me earlier about this?" Aang inquired tightening the grip on his wife's hand

"Aang, please be sensible. This is the only way we could get to him and he doesn't want your friends to be around. He is well aware of what they are capable of," pressed Lin

The monk was conflicted. As much as he wanted to end this prejudice and wrongdoing he wanted to stay with Katara. He tilted his head slightly to look into her eyes; they were telling him to go. Subconsciously he nodded and gave the waterbender a quick but meaningful kiss supporting her from her waist with his hand.

"You better come back to me," she whispered into his ear as they broke apart. The waterbender was conflicted as well.

"Follow on Appa," he said almost inaudibly

The avatar nodded to the rest of his friends and wandered toward the entrance of the car. The guard pulled open the door gesturing from him to sit down. Aang never was one for cars since they blocked him off from the freshness outside and he hesitantly ducked and took his seat. Immediately, he was followed by two more metalbenders who sat along the window seats of the vehicle. As quick as the automobiles strode in they were gone in one big, accumulative cloud of dust and steam.

As they took off to the east side, the others assembled on the back of Appa.

* * *

><p>He stumbled into main chamber and walked outside to meet the already risen sun. He exhaled deeply through his nose and discovered a sitting figure to his right.<p>

"Tenzin?"

The figure looked up, "Good Morning, Bro," the young airbender responded but remained in his lotus position

"Where's everyone?" the waterbender questioned eying his brother; he was never much for meditation.

"The city," Tenzin answered straightforwardly still keeping his eyes shut

The waterbender hadn't realized how late it was in the morning. He was convinced that he was coming with his father but the usual rush of anger wasn't there. He slightly balled his hands into fists but that was all he could accomplish, "Why did they leave us?" he asked barely over a whisper

"Father's orders; He demanded us stay here, I don't know why but I didn't question it. We just have to run the Sanctuary," the airbender returned still remaining in his lotus position

The waterbender was certain that his father would have allowed them to join him on his journey to the city. He didn't understand what was going on; was it something that he didn't want them to see? He remained deep in thought and hastily took a seat alongside his younger brother.

"Where's Kya? Is she up?"

Now the airbender opened his eyes and turned to reply to his brother, "No, I think last night just worn her out. She misses her children."

The two brothers looked at one another with love and admiration. Their eyes were piercing and firm yet bewildered none the less. Suddenly, off instinct they grabbed one other in an abysmal, brotherly hug.

"I know you're scared, I am too" admitted Rinzin, "But we'll get through this together as well as Kya."

* * *

><p>The car ride wasn't long. It only had lasted about fifteen minutes which was enough for the monk to handle. He couldn't see where they were going which made the airbender a bit tense but relaxed at the thought of his friends trailing him. Unexpectedly, the car stopped and the guard to his left said that they had arrived.<p>

The two guards exited before the monk and opened the door for him. The Avatar firmly set his feet on the ground and took in his surroundings. They weren't in a very open area, it was dark and they were surrounded by towering buildings. Using his earthbending he sensed bodies hiding in the darkness. He paced then to the first car where Lin was stationed in.

"Where is he?" the monk asked a bit forcibly to the chief

"I'm right here," a mysterious voice chimed

The monk turned toward the voice to discover a man revealing himself from the shadows. He had intense green eyes and tall yet stocky build. He had light messy brown hair with some stubble signifying that he hadn't shaved in a while. The man wasn't the best looking with a somewhat flat face and looked like an average person but he was a killer. He was Kurai Utsu the murderous leader of the uprising.

"Lin, is he alone?" the rebel shouted across the street confidently

"Yes," the chief responded

The monk stared angrily at the rough earthbender, "I doubt this is fair. I can sense all your men around us."

"You'd think I would be fair?" he laughed darkly displaying his white teeth

"I don't want to fight you," the monk bellowed irritably

"Of course you don't. I pacifist monk never wants to fight," Kurai teased him throwing his arms in the air for emphasis

The monk never took his sliver eyes off him and continued, "Why are you doing this? Killing innocent people?"

The man laughed darkly again, "They deserved to die."

"No one deserves to die," the monk countered quickly

"Of course you would say that. You believe that all life is sacred but you're wrong, Avatar. Not everything is what it seems. You may be convinced that I am committing a great evil but in fact I am bettering the world. You believe in the greater good of people but that is just foolish. Humans are nasty beings," the earthbender yelled with conviction, "You let this cloud you're judgment, this predetermined characteristic of people. You should have killed Ozai and now you have given those fucking pigs power again by building this damn city. This land belongs to the Earth Kingdom! The fire nation oppressed my people and anyone who lives contently in this city knowing of this injustice deserves to die."

"No, you're the one that is blinded. Blinded by the bloodlust of revenge and anger," the monk roared readying himself to fight, "I will not let this go on any longer!"

Suddenly, the monk felt the vibrations of hundreds of people coming out of hiding. They were ambushing him and the small group of metalbenders. Lin had been right. They were suspected to be powerful but not this numerous. A quick wave of anxiety ran through his body. It wasn't the fear of losing his life but the fear of losing the lives of the innocent. He needed to be decisive and end it. Briefly closing his eyes, he felt the cosmic energy flow through his fingertips. His eyes and tattoos glowed and he successfully summoned the Avatar state.

Unaided, the Avatar defeated the large group of rebels within minutes. It was an unbelievable sight. The gang watched in amazement from the safety of Appa's saddle in the sky. By an half an hour the fight was growing to a close and Utsu was retreating into his hole. The monk promised himself that he would let him escape. Locating him from the air, Aang bombarded the earthbender with a powerful blow of Air throwing him to the ground. Landing on top of him, the Avatar quickly produced stone shackles from the earth and pined him down.

Kurai was exhausted; mentally and physically battered, bloody and bruised. He had fought valiantly beside his counterparts but it was all in vain, Aang was too strong.

In a hoarse voice, he stared directly into the monk's cold eyes, "What are going to do? Kill me?" he mocked him laughing sinisterly, "You're fucking pig like the rest of them!" he screamed through his bloody fatigue

The Avatar didn't answer but only laid his hands upon the center of his forehead and chest, "No person deserves the punishment of death not even you. But you are not worthy of the privilege of bending. You have used it only for the purpose of destruction and pain."

Abruptly, the monk lifted his hand to the sky and began the process of energybending. There was a bright flash and the battle was over. The murder, known as Kurai Noma Utsu, had been defeated, caught and sentenced to prison for the remainder of his life.

As the police placed Utsu into a prison car, the newly dubbed non-bender laughed to himself; the battle wasn't over yet. If he couldn't bend no one would. He would strike again when the Avatar was weak and get his revenge. Today he was made a fool of, but the Avatar will have his day and he'll be the one laughing.


	23. Doubt

**A/N: Hey Everyone! Sorry for the wait…. Sorta had a little writer's block but I got through it. Anyway saw the third episode of LoK; to sum it up in a nutshell… IT BLEW MY MIND. I love the character of Amon! I feel that Bryke well definitely build up his character with his background and grievances against the benders. One of the criticisms I have for A:TLA (which isn't a lot) is that they didn't build up the character of Firelord Ozai enough they sorta just throw him in there. Well now I blabbing on and on. PLEASE REVIEW… I love everyone who had put my story in their favorites and alerts and what not. Thanks a ton … have some fun! (I'm a poet and don't even know it! Btw Happy National poetry month to all those poets and poetry lovers out there) Again, Please Review**

Chapter 23- Doubt

He hated being that; how his power puts fear and distrust in people's eyes. The airbender only used it out of necessity because too many lives were lost all ready. The Avatar remained standing in the center of the street lost in his thoughts. He watched the policemen as they arrested the rest of the rebels who had fought in the small scale battle. The Avatar turned to where the injured were and looked towards that direction with shame. He exhaled deeply laying his eyes on a boy that looked to not to even be thirteen yet. He had hurt his left leg which shown to be broken; it was covered in a tick layer of dried blood and dust. The monk felt his heart cringe and he had to look away, disgraceful of his actions.

So much was going on all around him and he was the cause of it. His ankles fell weak and he collapsed to his knees cradling his face in his hands. It was ironic how powerful he was and now how powerless he his now. His muscles couldn't move as he watched more of the injured rebels being moved and evaluated. So much guilt welled up in his chest it was almost unbearable and felt as if he was going to burst. _You're a monster…You're no better than Utsu _he mocked himself only making himself feel even worse. His head now seemed to weigh a hundred pounds as he rested it between his knees _You're a monster_ he repeated in his head. Than he felt warm, soothing hands hug him from behind.

The waterbender knew all too well Aang's tendency to carry the burdens alone and to blame himself for the things that were out of his power. She gently shifted her body so that she was sitting beside him with their shoulders touching. The Avatar stayed in the same position with his head covered in his knees. She tenderly rubbed his back with her right hand. It was her, the one that was always there to catch him when he was too weak to stand, that one who knew his every though, the one that had saved his life on multiple occasions, the one who he loved and would cherish forever.

"Aang, it's alright," Katara whispered comfortably, "Don't put this on yourself."

The avatar remained motionless in his cloud of nostalgia but Katara could feel his muscles relax under her touch.

"I'm here Aang. Everything is going to be ok. Everyone is ok. Only a few were injured."

This time the monk raised his hidden head from his knees to meet her eyes; they were full of love and hope but his were clouded full of shame, "But that counts as something, Katara," he choked due to his chest making it hard to talk, "I am no better than Utsu, Katara…."

"Aang…" she breathed and inched even closer to him. She was taken aback by how thoughtful and sensitive his was at the moment. He had total control of himself during that state but why did he doubt himself so much now?

"Don't ever talk like that Aang. You are the best person I know and I know you only want good for all people. You had to use it and you did. You saved more lives than I can count so why do you doubt yourself now... everyone is doing fine."

"I'm not sure," the airbender paused and looked thoughtfully in his wife's ocean eyes, "I remember when I was young, Monk Gyatso told me that the whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts. Now I understand," the airbender stopped again and took her hand in his. He affectionately rubbed it with the pad of his thumb and gave it a reassuring squeeze, "Utsu was an extreme and devoted person… he was so sure that he was doing right by killing innocent people that he dubbed traitors. Yes, I was angry but I felt sympathy for him due to his background. I could see in his eyes that there was undoubtedly good in him but the cost of all this is... is much too great."

"As with anything…" Katara countered him, "Aang, please don't bare this yourself. You're friends are here and don't ever forget that."

He looked up at her again and snaked his arm around her waist successfully drawing her closer towards his body, "Ok, Katara," he agreed quietly and smiled. He lightly eased the waterbender to her feet using the hand he held behind her waist to support her.

"Thank you," the Airbender said quite passionately

With that the waterbender wrapped her hands confidently around his neck and angling her lips with his returned his warm gesture. The embrace lingered for a few moments longer and they broke away from there display of passion by breathing 'I love you' to one another.

As the monk laced his fingers with hers, the thought of Roku passed through his mind, "Katara, what about Roku and his warning?"

"We can't worry about now. What is done is done and Utsu is no longer a threat. That's what matters," she comforted the Airbender, "I'm sure it will be ok," and she gently kissed him on the cheek. She looked down towards his forearm and noticed it was bleeding; there was a small piece of scalpel lodged in it.

"Aang your arm!" the waterbender breathed

The monk was too wrapped up in is thoughts to even notice that he was bleeding but he was numb from the pain. Immediately Katara grabbed the airbender's arm and caressed it gently between her chest and her hand while she used to other arm to summon the water from the air. Instantly the airbender felt better as he sensed the healing process start; she always was there for him and could almost magically transform a negative situation into a positive one. Aang smiled down at her with his gray hues gleaming of adoration. After she removed the piece of metal that was wedged in his forearm and mended it, the couple proceeded to join the rest of the group. They were located across the road; they were helping the group of metalbenders move the remaining rebels into their prison cars.

"There's twinkle-toes!" the blind earthbender exclaimed as she stood next to her daughter

"You made it buddy!" Sokka shouted after Toph granting the monk a bone-crushing man hug, "Good job Aang! Now that's what I call an airbending slice!"

"Yeah! Good job Aang. You got that criminal behind bars," the Firelord congratulated, "And I didn't even have to break a sweat this time."

The gang exchanged all laughs and talked about the battle but Aang remained in a somewhat pensive mood which concerned Katara greatly.

* * *

><p>It was nearing early evening when the gang finally returned to the police headquarters and then to the justice building where the united council was located. It was required for Lin to provide a police report on the case since it was concluded. A mass of people ranging from old to young, big to small, bender to non-bender all gathered before the raised platform where the gang resided. There was a wooden podium in the center where a newly invented microphone hung.<p>

"Good Evening Citizens of Republic City," Lin started out. Her voice echoed across the plaza, "I have great news to present. The extremist and nationalist criminal rebel, Kurai Noma Utsu, has been caught and detained as of this afternoon by none other than Avatar Aang. He is no longer a threat to you or your family's safety but do not forget those who have perished under Utsu. May they and their families always be in our hearts."

The Avatar listened assiduously to the chief metalbender as he watched her from behind shuddering as she listed the names of the people lost. He inhaled through his nose and exhaled deeply through his mouth; he would join them in the spirit world in about a week and a half. Hopefully they will forgive him for his unpunctuality. Suddenly, Lin motioned for him to take the podium which the monk readily declined but metalbender insisted.

Aang wasn't one for speeches and occasionally spoke when he needed too. The airbender reluctantly rose from his position on the floor and stood behind the podium with his hands resting at his sides. The crowd was absolutely silent preparing to listen to what the Avatar had to say. Extraordinarily, Aang was never nervous when he was before crowds of people because he knew in the back of his head that there were worst things then public speaking.

"Good Evening the people of Republic City," he started rather slowly, "The monks once told me to not dwell in the past, to not dream of the future, but to concentrate the mind on the present moment," he paused as if to let the saying sink into the audience, "I have been having a hard time with this lately," the Avatar stated truthfully recalling the shame he had felt with his previous display of his power, "Kurai is in the past now and we must focus on the present. We must focus on being good citizens, good fathers, brothers, mothers and sisters to our family as well as our neighbors. I understand and feel great sympathy for the families who have lost love ones; believe me I know how you feel. Just remember that they are still here living in all of us; there energy surrounds us at this very moment. I implore you, do not make their sacrifices in vain but live for them with benevolence and goodwill. Thank you."

As the remnants of his voice echoed across the rest of the plaza, the crowd was motionless until they broke out into a rousing cheer for their Avatar; people were clapping and whistling. The Avatar's words were sincere and heartfelt and the crowd could sense that. From behind, Katara watched her husband slowly back away from the microphone to stand beside the chief. The waterbender was amazed by how great of speaker he was; how he effortlessly touched a thousand hearts with his wisdom and bigheartedness. The Avatar stood confidently beside his counterpart as the crowd applauded once more for their heroes.

"Wow…" Sokka muttered under his breath

His sister looked over towards him, concerned by his shocked expression on his face, "What is it Sokka?"

"I didn't know that Aang was that good at public speaking… I remember when I messed up during the war meeting for the day of black sun and he told me that that speech wasn't my moment of truth and that it was just public speaking and that no one is really good at that; well I have to say Aang is excellent and a lair."

The waterbender giggled and smiled contently to herself, "Well I guess he just has talents that we have never known about," the waterbender concluded but she knew that Aang was just a natural public speaker.

The briefing didn't last much longer and sun was dangerously nearing the line of the horizon. In the dimness of the fading light, the gang returned to the comfort of Appa's saddle and begin to fly back towards the direction of the Sanctuary where Tenzin, Rinzin and Kya waited patiently for their return.


	24. Breaking Point

**A/N: Well sorry for the wait. Thanks to all who read and review! I love you guys. Sorry this one is a little shorter to the rest but it is totally necessary for the plot (the next chapter is important [hint]) Anyways, I watched the 4 episode of TLoK as always it was amazing. I bet all of you saw that little clip of Aang (that absolutely blew my mind!) I really didn't know what ws going on in the episode because I couldn't get over that fact that I saw Aang (Again it blew my mind... like blew my mind) OMFG It blew my mind. Well, I hope you enjoy this and PLEASE REVIEW. thanks! **

Chapter 24- Breaking Point

He was so fatigued; he felt as if he couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. Thankfully, the commute back from the police headquarters was shortened since the pickup of the wind. The monk managed to steer Appa steady enough to land on the major patio of the Sanctuary. When Appa touched down, the dimness of the fading light turned into darkness as the sun drooped below the surface allowing the early electric glow of the city to radiate off waters of the bay.

The airbender remained siting on the beast's head and attempted to demount but he physically couldn't. He looked down at his legs as if he could some how is look could move them but he couldn't. Panicking he turned slowly to watch the Katara help the rest of his friends climb down from the saddle. He smiled to himself and then an uncontrollable feeling of weakness flushed over his every vein and every muscle in his body; the Avatar collapsed.

Katara looked up from her position below to unexpectedly discover the airbender's body motionless.

"Aang?" the waterbender shouted out in panic rushing to his side. The monk made no answer and anxiety streaked through her mind. His chest was over his knees as his head rested at his feet. She swiftly clutched his shoulder and pulled him back so that the airbender was resting on his back opening up his , she checked his pulse; he was still alive.

_Oh, thank the spirits_ she whispered to herself. _But why did he pass out?_

"Katara! Is Aang ok?" her brother inquired, "What happened?"

The waterbender was too wrapped up in the monk to even notice the warrior crouching beside her. She couldn't contain her grief anymore and the streams of tears rolled down her cheeks as she cupped the airbender's face.

"I don't know Sokka. He's alive and breathing. Just carry him to the closest sofa or bed. So that I can examine him farther," she requested attempting to gain her composure but it was no use.

The warrior looked empathically into his sister's eyes: they looked hurt beyond belief and what saddened him the most was that he couldn't fix it. He nodded in silent agreement and clutched his fallen friend in his arms.

* * *

><p>His friends and family lined the sofa where Aang was resting as if it was the last moment they would ever see him. No one attempted to start a conversation; the tension of the situation made it hard too.<p>

"Didn't he have more time?" Zuko said solemnly

"I'm not sure," Sokka began to answer, "Death is just one of those things where... you...you don't know. It just comes."

The group fall silent once again as the warrior mentioned the word _death. _They all shifted awkwardly and refocused there attention on the stationary monk that lay before them.

"Katara, what actually happened?" Suki questioned passing her a cool rag to place on the airbedner's forehead

"That's the thing… I don't know what happened… he... he just was awake one moment and was down the next," the waterbender placed her cool fingers on his cheek. He was warm; very warm in fact, "Toph, how's his heartbeat?"

"Fine, at the moment; it spiked for a few seconds but leveled out again," the blind earthbender responded from her distant position in the corner of the room

A few more minutes passed and by now the Avatar has been unconscious for about a total of twenty minutes.

"This doesn't make any sense," Sokka started stroking his small beard, "How can he be so strong? I mean he defeated that guy and army in mere seconds…"

"It's the iceberg, Sokka," Katara answered quite bluntly trying not to show emotion but it was hopeless. She hated the iceberg for shortening his life which could have been long and prosperous, but without it she couldn't of ever of met him. _What if that happened?_ She thought _I would just be another stranger in his life_… Katara instinctively shook those negative thoughts from her mind because she couldn't imagine any life without him.

"Katara! His heart rate is climbing and fast… I don't know what it is," the earthbender exclaimed running to the waterbender's aid

See looked up being pulled out of her thoughts. Again worry streaked across her face, "What am I supposed too to do?"

"My best guess is to let him fight it himself," Suki said somberly placed a supporting hand on Katara's shoulder, "I don't think we can do anything now."

"It's his battle," the Firelord added quietly remembering his illness at Ba Sing Si

The monk started to sweat profusely as he tossed and turned out of discomfort on the small sofa. He clutched the sides of the sofa firmly balling his hands into tight fist. The expression on his face was a mixture of pure agony and exhaustion as he gritted his teeth. The pain that once was there suddenly seemed as if it was gone. The monk released a deep breath and then he eyes jutted opened.

"Aang!" Katara shouted out in happiness sliding her hands around his neck.

"Katara…" he mumbled returning the loving gesture. Letting go of the embrace, he quickly propped himself up and abruptly walked to the wall where he stopped and placed his right hand. The monk began to cough violently as his body recoiled.

"Aang, are you ok?" the Firelord questioned his friend concernedly as he paced toward the wall where he was standing

"I'm fine… don't worry about me. I'm just tired that's all," Aang stated keeping his face covered

"Tell the truth, Aang," the Firelord pressed moving closer to the isolated monk, "You're hiding something from us… You are only hurting yourself."

"I told you," the airbender detailed angrily, "I'm tired… the Avatar state drained most of my energy so my time has been shortened."

Silence fell on the rest of the group again, only this time it wasn't anxiety quieting them but the grief. The monk remained clutching the wall. It became difficult to breathe as the airbender's muscles contradicted in his chest and his limbs became too heavy for him too carry. His grip slipped slowly from the wall and he head was drooping dangerously low. He grunted out of agony, out of grief as he met the cold floor. The waterbender remained paralyzed as she watched him; hot tears streamed down her face as his moans of agony cut through her heart like a daggers.


	25. The Shade's Contempt

**A/N: Well I'm already up to 25 chapters isn't that crazy! Well I hope you guys enjoy this one because it was really fun to write. Anyway, I'm making this author's note really short so you guys now the drill: PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! And thank you to those who have added me to their favorites and what not (you guys rock!) Again: PLEASE REVIEW. Thanks ;)**

Chapter 25- The Shade's Contempt

The monk gasped for air bringing his legs up to his chest. He lay on his side while low resonant coughs racked through his entire body. The airbender gritted his teeth out of sheer discomfort. He fought for consciousness as his vision began to blur; he did not want to go back to the realm of Hei An, the crossroads of life and death. Incredible and unimaginable pain ran through his total frame; this was the agony that Hei An prophesied. Another wave of hurt pulsed through him as his legs withdrew from his chest; he felt as if his heart was being ripped out of his chest and that every bone in his body was being broken.

"Ahhh…." the airbender moaned grabbing his chest

He couldn't even feel the loving hands that were laying on him and quickly realized that he didn't have long before he would pass out again. Using his last of his energy reserves, the airbender rolled over so that he was facing the ceiling. He only could make out muffled shades and contours of people grabbing him. Reaching out an unstable hand he found Katara's and he knew it was hers.

"Bring me to the Southern Air Temple…" he managed to voice before darkness conquered his mind.

* * *

><p>He was alive; more than alive he was a child again. Childhood: a word that simply represents the period between birth and adulthood, a time that is the core essence of innocence and bliss. It was a time that was cut short for him and a time that he'll never forget.<p>

"_A dying man needs to die, as a sleepy man needs to sleep, and there comes a time when it is wrong, as well as useless, to resist," a dark and foreboding voice chimed_

He head jolted in the direction of the voice but it was as of it was surrounding him. The happiness that once encompassed his thoughts turned to raw discomfort. Suddenly searching for the energy in him, he arose from his submissive position to his feet where he instantly transformed into his thirty-five year old body; he was no longer a child.

With fury lading his features he began to speak, "I will not stand for this!" the enraged Avatar bellowed, "We made an agreement, Hei An."

"_Yelling at the all-powerful spirit of death is not the smartest of routes don't you think Avatar?" the spirit replied bitterly _

"Neither is cheating the Avatar. Remember I am the embodiment of world," Aang countered

"_The physical world that is…" the spirit trailed off_

"No, you are quite incorrect. You see, I am as much a part of this world as you are: we spirits cannot live without one another, you forget that I am also a spirit," the monk replied knowingly. The airbender controlled this realm as much as he did. When he arrived here he was a child because Hei An had transformed his energy into the weakest state possible but he altered into a man as he gained strength.

"_Do not fear death so much but rather the inadequate life, Avatar," the wise spirit replied, "Are you doing this because you're regretful? ashamed?… I was there when you were born and I have never left. Always lurking at your doorstep, I have been waiting this whole time, Avatar, and if you don't want to come I suppose I take another mortal's life in your absence for good measure if you don't submit. Someone that is dear to you like your son's life. Death... is something that everyone carries with them."_

Aang withered into his twenty year old body as the icy words crept down his spine, "**Don't you dare **touch my son or my family for that matter!" he shouted out in desperation forcing his tattoos to glow a little, "These claims that you are speaking of are false. I am regretful of nothing."

_The spirit only laughed, "Is that so, Avatar? Then why have you lost your strength?"_

The monk's small weakness was short lived as he transformed into his current fifty-four year old self, "I haven't," he paused and exhaled deeply salvaging his lost composure. He was letting Hei An get to him as well as his anger; this was not right, he needed to calm down, "I'm sorry," he heard himself say

_The spirit ominously snickered in reply_

"I'm sorry for you… because you have never experienced the feeling of life: it is a feeling that is like no other," the Avatar planned to continue to only be abruptly cut off by the spirit

"_A pathetic life of impermanence and mortality? Ha! I don't understand your foolish words. Life is suffering, Avatar, and don't you ever forget that," the spirit roared, "I'm happy the curse of reincarnate is braced on your shoulders."_

The monk simply smiled to himself reliving all his memories of his life in his head. He opened his eyes and cleared his head to discover blazing whites eyes staring back at him; it was Hei An and he had never shown himself to a mortal before. A dark shape of a figure appeared before the airbender. The cloud of darkness looked so concrete as if he could reach out his hand and clutch it, but if he did it would disappear as swiftly as it showed. Quickly, the dark mist gathered and formed into a beast-like thing with the same white eyes. The dark creature wasn't the loveliest thing to look at but his eyes glowed of pure curiosity.

"_I am inclined to hear what you have to say… you got me out of my hiding place after all," the spirit said simply _

"Who will tell whether one happy moment of love or the joy of breathing and walking on a bright morning and smelling the fresh air, is not worth all the suffering and effort which life implies?" the monk inquired the spirit

"_I do not understand what you are asking of me."_

"It's because you don't know what happiness and love is because you have never felt it. I assure you bliss and love is worth all the suffering in the world," the Avatar replied to be answered with the dumbstruck face of the spirit

"_Then tell me about it," the Spirit demand forcibly._ His features grew impatient while his eyed gleamed of anticipation and eagerness.

The monk laughed at his request, "The feeling of love and of pure contentment is ultimately ineffable. You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life, which you mechanically take away every second. You are just a dead husk that is programmed to take the greatest of gifts away."

Suddenly, the spirit's eyes were livid; flushed with pure anger and rage. His long white fangs radiated in the dark, _"How dare you insult me!"_ _he boomed, "You think I like doing this? Do you think I get pleasure out of taking peoples' lives? No! I don't, but without it the universe would be shattered and thrown out of balance: into a pit of chaos and despair. It is true; I have never experienced emotions because how could I after that and take a life? I would feel and then… I don't know what would happen…"_ the spirit's tone softened and he disappeared into the surrounding haze.

A long silence followed as the monk remained upright in the darkness, contemplating on what action he should take next. He felt compassion for the spirit, he did have a harsh occupation and the monk regretted some of the cruel things he had lifted his lips. He exhaled and remembered the pain he had experienced earlier when he was wake; his body must be taking a lot.

"Hei An…" he spoke in a gentle tone, "If you even have a shred of decency and understanding, you would grant me the privilege of seeing my son get married."

Again, the airbender was met with another long period of silence and Aang grew frustrated; he did not know where he's physical body was and time was running shorter as every second passed.

"Please, Hei An. I ask for forgiveness for all the offensive things that I had said earlier," the Avatar humbly coaxed

There was no immediate answer and the monk sighed in discontentment. He did all that he could and lowered himself defeated down to his knees. He began to weep clutching his face in his tattooed-hands. The airbender thought of his wife and all her beauty. He thought how much he was going to miss her and long for her touch, he thought of his children and how they have grown to make him one of the proudest fathers to ever live and he thought of his friends who were his family and home. Over his muffled cries he heard a low hum and his ears perked up at the sound.

"_Hhhmmm…"_

His eyes darted in every which way searching for the origin of the noise but he couldn't pinpoint it.

"_I'll allow you to live to see your son's wedding, but this is the last time,"_ _the shadow finally spoke_

* * *

><p>Suddenly, the monk's eye's shot open and he found himself to be in a familiar place. He attempted to move but his body only responded by sending waves of pain through his body. He succeeded in managing to turn his head and observe his surroundings; he was in his room at the southern air temple, the setting of his distant childhood and the place where he began his family. The soreness that was once there was no longer and he propped himself up enough to gaze outside the window. It was a beautiful morning and the sunlight emitted through the window; the air was filled with the smell of blossoms and pollen as it was spring at the temple.<p>

Then the airbender recalled that it was night when he had lost consciousness and didn't know how long he had been asleep. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes he discovered the figure of a sleeping women beside him, it was Katara and she looked absolutely drained. He smiled to himself fixing his gaze upon her; she looked so peaceful. _She is so beautiful _he mused dreamily brushing a few stray strains of hair from her face. He was content in watching her.

He shifted his body a bit awkwardly off the bed in attempt to not disturb the waterbender from her slumber but it was useless. He hadn't noticed that she had placed her closest arm over him so that she would be roused when he moved. Her cobalt eyes sparkled as they glided open to meet his.

"I see that you're awake," Katara spoke quietly

He studied her face for a brief moment. Her expression looked more of relief than exhaustion but sadness outlined her eyes. Aang nodded meekly caressing her cheek with his hand, "Sorry I was going to let you sleep… How long was I out for?"

"About three days… and I've missed you," she stated relatively remorsefully

"And I have missed you too, more then you could ever imagine," and with that the monk captured her lips in a passion driven kiss; one that both were longing for. When love is real, it always finds a way. Breathless, the couple separated and returned to reality.

"Tenzin is getting married isn't he?" Aang asked sadly for various known and unknown reasons

Katara picked up on this and took his hand in hers, "One time a big, strong guy told me that we'll do this together," the waterbender teased, "And we will."

"We will," he stated resolutely bringing his beloved into a warm embrace and holding her tight between his strong arms.

"We Will…"


	26. Lost Words

**A/N: Well sorry for the wait guys. Sorta took a two week break. Exams and essay galore. Anyways this is sorta of a filler to keep you guys busy for a bit. I can already her the wedding bells. Woah, I just thought of Macbeth and how the Bell summons him to kill the king. It's ironic because the bell in that play means represents something good but it just means that the guy is gonna die right. Sorry for the wait guys and PLEASE REVIEW! Oh, I saw the Legend of Korra episode six today on the ol' internet and it was FLIPPIN' AWESOME/ THE BEST THING I'VE WATCHED IN LIKE FOREVER. I just in love with Tenzin, he's a great character. You guys know the drill: PLEASE REVIEW. And thanks you to all of you that support my writing by putting me in their favorites/ story alerts.**

Chapter 26- Lost Words

The Southern Air Temple; the place where he was born, the place where he learned to cross his t's and dot his i's, the place where he found himself and lost himself, the place where he learned the value of brotherhood as well as fatherhood, the place where his union with Katara was made everlasting and the place of his final breath. The couple of days before the wedding passed rather indolently; all the guests had arrived and were being accommodated and attained to. It was a smaller gathering, a group that consisted of many of their close friends and relatives with the addition to Pema's family. During the days leading up to the wedding, Aang had spent the majority of his time with Katara as well as his family and friends. Everything appeared as if it was like before, but there was always that underlying premonition that everyone seemed to disregard; no one wanted to mention it, to bring down the mood.

He sighed deeply, intently watching his ribcage expand and relax. The concept of sleep eluded him; he didn't want to see darkness until he absolutely needed to. His hand was warped securely around Katara's slender waist. The waterbender slept laying into his body; his warmth and love surrounded her.

It was the night before the wedding and the moon was almost full. The airbender looked down to his sleeping love noting how beautifully the moon beams caressed her face, how elegantly it bounced off every curve of her body. _I have so many things to tell you… _the monk thought silently _I have so many things that I still want to do with you… but I don't have the luxury of time do I? _he laughed soundlessly _I love you so much Katara…_

Moving his hand quietly from the position of her waist, he gently brushed of few strains of hair from her face. Tilting his head closer, he placed a soft kiss upon her forehead, smiling as he took in her intoxicating scent. Just as he motioned to pull away he lingered there for a second looking down at her, all his emotions swirled around him; he didn't know what to do.

The monk retreated reluctantly away from the refuge of his beloved and shifted to the edge of the bed where he pulled a part of trousers on. His body felt a lot weaker than before when it was combined with his lack of sleep. Abruptly, the Avatar shifted his weight to his heels and he paced to door gazing briefly back at Katara before he exited.

The airbender followed the winding hallways down to an open chamber and continued walking while placing a supportive hand against the wall. His bare feet pressed against the cool stone with every step he took urging him to push forward. Suddenly he stopped before the door of a room; it was monk Gyatso's room. The monk stood before the space of his old master. He looked at it with wary eyes while he rested his hand gently upon the wooden panels of the door. He has studied this door multiple times before; the granules of the wood swooped down and up as if it were just cut but the door was a matter of thousands of years old. Many illustrious and benevolent monks of the past resided in this room but it was different; it was his master's room. He had never had the strength to open it, never had the strength to face what lay beyond the door.

The monk remained frozen in stance, his hand stayed placed on the door as if it give him a kind of secret strength. He closed eyes and remembered where he came from; he recalled the faces, the joy, the life. His eyes began to water as the pain erected from his heart. He was seventeen when he gave his mentor and his fellow airbenders a proper funeral rite. He burned their bones and released them to the will of the wind so their spirits would be free. The moonlight reflected off the moisture of his face and his slowly opened his eyes. He looked at his hand, following the outline of the arrow with his eyes. He traced it over and over again attempting to find if there was a kind of secret message some sort of direction; it was pointing toward the door begging him to open it. He needed to accept this; he needed to face this. Wiping all the tears of guilt, frustration and sadness from his face he pushed the door open.

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><p>"Aang?" she mumbled rubbing the sleep from her eyes. The waterbender had noticed the sudden lack of warmth due to her husband's absence. She laid her hand to where Aang was sleeping recently; it was indented and warm. She breathed deeply throughout her nostrils attempting to dismiss all of the negative thoughts from her mind and proceed to the doorway in search of the airbender. <em>He'll be alright <em>she comforted herself.

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><p>It was dark and only a dribble of moonlight shone through the translucent shade over the window. The room was as he remembered it, only with the exception of a thick layer of dust. The monk stood frozen in stance, the memories from his childhood flooding his memory. The room was simple, only furnished with a pai sho table, a sleeping mat and a small desk. <em>Why is it so hard? <em>He questioned himself, _Why do I still fell this way? _The airbender was so uncertain. He cautiously paced over to his master's desk as if he didn't want to disturb anything. It gave him a sort of reassurance of how the room remained untouched all these years; how there was a piece of the old world in the new.

Reaching the desk he immediately found a letter. Carefully, the monk extended his hand and grasped it gingerly between his forefinger and thumb. Upon examining it closer, the airbender discovered that it was addressed to him.

_To Aang:_

_My dearest pupil,_

_In times of darkness and inner turmoil it is difficult to see the light. I understand your feelings about being the Avatar and the great responsibility it comes with, but I assure you that you are destined to be great. Aang I will not let them take you away from me. It was the council's own anxiety about the impending conflicts. I promise you that we will meet again and I do __not scold you on your choice in running away. You made never receive this letter but it gives me peace to know that I am making an effort too. If we may never cross paths again, so be it; let the universe free, let the monkeys dance and let the dogs have their day. __Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend - or a meaningful day. Until we meet again… Practice tolerance, Practice compassion and you will find happiness._

_With Love and Compassion, _

_Monk Gyatso_

The airbender stood there and reread the letter a least a hundred times. Tracing the calligraphy with his hands; he always loved the way Monk Gyatso wrote. His words always appeared to be so light and delicate as if the black ink was dancing across the parchment. He missed Gyatso as a son would long for his father. Gyatso was the one always looked out for him, the person who loved and cared for him. _And what did you do? You left him to die…_

"Aang?"

His ears perked up and the monk immediately recognized the voice. He slowly turned to meet the gaze of the beautiful woman. He didn't even feel her vibrations when she was walking done the hallways; he was just so wrapped up in his own thoughts.

"He's proud of you, you know," Katara said knowingly pacing closer to the contemplative airbender. The waterbender knew his tendency to place unnecessary burdens upon himself.

The hole of the overwhelming feeling of culpability and remorse healed as he listened to the angelic voice of his wife. He turned and smiled out of adoration and out of love.

"You are right," the monk answered as he recalled his mentor's words: _let the universe be, let the monkeys dance and let the dogs have their day._

**_A/N: Just for a heads up: the next chapter is going to be sad._**


	27. Assisting the Fallen

**A/N: Well Chapter 27... Is going to be sad. Heads up to y'all. Sorry for not updating in awhile. Well if you want me to continue the story or end here please tell me (PM me). Thanks to everyone who takes the time to read and review my stories because I would be nothing without you guys. I love all you guys who posted this story in their favs too. PLEASE REVIEW AND PLEASE ENJOY!**

Chapter 27- Assisting the Fallen

"I do…" two simple words, three letters and a space but your life is changed forever; two become one. He gazed over to the women that stood beside him, she looked strong yet tender with her willowy white dress draping elegantly from her slender frame. He held her hand securely in his own and casted a smile down at her because she was all his.

Aang watched in loving anticipation; it was bittersweet. He remembered those blue eyes staring up at him, his hand on the small of her back and the sweetness of her lips. That was the best day of his life other than the birth of his children.

He watched his son, who was no longer a little boy anymore, confidently remove the covering from his beloved's face. She was stunning and for a split second the couple gazed at one another in starry realism despite the craziness of the day. He felt their love eminent around him, swirling around his ankles and over his shoulders. At that very moment when Tenzin captured his lips with Pema, the monk's heart swelled with an overbearing sense of love, of compassion, of truth. He knew the world would survive. Life would move on and new friendships are formed. And from those new friendships, tolerance and empathy is derived; Republic City will survive, there will be peace and the great world will spin.

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><p>Later at the reception, the monk observed his children and friends dancing amd enjoying themselves mostly likely for the final time. The avatar watched his grandchildren gleam with happiness as they boogied and twirled with Sokka. The airbender laughed silently to himself. He saw the blind bandit showing off her moves to her husband and daughter. Saw Suki taking zuko down in a dancing competition and Rinzin perform his signature move. As the high up-beat tempo song came to an end, the avatar's ears perked up to a familiar sound. It was a love melody, the one that was played at his wedding and his eyes immediately froze on the beautiful waterbender that stood before him. <em><strong>[AN: look of the song 'Fill my Heart' by Two Steps from Hell and you'll know what I mean]**_

Using the remains of his energy, he swiftly got up out of his chair and extended his hand out towards Katara, "I would be pleased to have this dance with you."

"I would love too," the waterbender replied as if he read her mind

No one was on the dance floor except for the Avatar and Katara but they didn't care all, all that mattered was them. He graced his hand with hers and gently placed his other on her back pulling her deeply into his body. There love was ineffable, everlasting. Leading her as he always did to the soothing sway of the music he rested his forehead upon hers looking into her cobalt eyes, into her soul, the one the he knew as if it was his own because it was. She was his world, his everything…

"I love you, Katara, with all my heart, soul and being," he breathed

"I love you, Aang," said resolutely tightening the grip around his shoulders, "I will always love you. Never forget that."

The music stopped and the room fill silent as the Avatar tenderly found the waterbender's lips. He cupped her face, took in her scent, felt the final electrifying sensation of her hair against his skin and a part of him fell.

His once strong hands dropped from her face, his strength dwindled and his body collapsed as it had multiple times before to the cold ground, but this time it was different. The waterbender caught her husband just as she had during the fight at Be Sing Se, she clutched him as if she was trying to fill the emptiness, to catch the fallen piece. Tears rolled down her cheeks as people ran to their assistance but she knew it was useless no healing could fix him this time; he was dead. She kissed his cheeks, his forehead, his hands and in the back of her mind she knew that there was a baby crying somewhere. The fallen piece was lost as she looked into her husband's lifeless eyes, the sliver eyes she fallen accustomed too. His forehead was cold. He was gone.


	28. After the Fall

**A/N: Sorry guys for the long wait... I think its the longest ever to update but I was in South America for a month (That's an actual excuse). Anyways I just saw the Korra final- IT FLIPPING BLEW MY MIND! But I really don't know what Bryke is going to do in the second season because they really tied up all the loose ends and stuff... maybe it will all be side stories! (YESS) Again, sorry and please enjoy. I really don't know how this is gonna go on. Oh, and Aang and Katara's son Bumi only had 5 seconds of air time but his like my favorite character already... nope Aang is still my favorite. PLEASE REVIEW! REVIEW!**

PART 2: Assisting the fallen

Chapter 28- After the Fall

She looked out over the cold, hushed earth. The trees seemed lifeless without the wind dancing and curling its way through their maze of leaves. The animals as well appeared solemn and disjointed as if they sensed and projected the broken balance, the long silence of death. Whole nations were quieted, people mourned in the streets for days on end, while some continued on with their lives forcing the unpleasant memories to an obscure place of their minds. This is what she did or thought she did with the memory of her mother; acted as if it hadn't affected her and persisted on with her day, but she could always feel the scares on her heart from that, the painful poison leaking from it. Then he healed it, took it in his hand and held it out in front of her with his own willingly in other, but she wasn't ready to love again. Love couldn't flourish in that kind of impending darkness, but he seemed so sure, so persistent to try. The waterbender sighed and redirected her gaze to the dark storm clouds above. She stared at the incomprehensible, clouded sky. She watched the pattern of the clouds above as they rolled over the rough waters of the bay. Her senses felt so acute as if she could lay a finger on everything thing in the world but it was surreal, a dream, a lie. She comprehended the smallest sounds: the crunch of the grass at the base of her heels, the sound of a birds landing on a nearby branch, the distant cry of a lone dog, the thump of the pine cone hitting the protruding rocks on the ground, the sound and the sensation of the water droplets as they made contact with her face. Death is a facetious thing; it makes a person feel so alive yet so dead on the inside, a hollow shell only for the wind to blow through. She was frozen in stance on the perch of the island. Her legs refused her comands to move as it began to downpour, not making a single effort to run for cover because there wasn't any; her refuge, her safe place, his strong arms for him to hold her were lost to the will of the wind. Her ears perked up to the booming purr of thunder and the chilling gale clasped her body. She was in here element but she didn't feel comfort; she felt numb inside, a hole where here heart used to be, where his used to be held. The water cascaded down her cheeks, dripping off the end of her nose and swooping down the back of her neck soaking her clothes. The wind began to blow harder and she shuttered at its power but she remained there at the mercy of the storm. Suddenly, her ankles feel weak and fell to the cold dirt as she began to weep as she brought her knees to her face; her tears mixed with the rain making difficult to know that she was even crying. _Family is like water_ Katara thought- it has a memory of what it once filled, always trying to get back to the original stream, but the stream is flooding and now Aang is nothing but ash, a faint memory of the past.

"Katara?"

She turned to the familiar voice, it was her brother's. She saw him rushing to her, his arms wide open and holding a blanket in his one hand. He grabbed her in a heartfelt hug from behind while he effortlessly wrapped her in the wool blanket.

"Katara, you shouldn't be out here. The storm is really picking up," the tall warrior looked down at his sister from crouching behind her. He could tell that she had been out her for a while judging from her depth of her footprints, "Katara?" the warrior whispered attempting to gain her attention, "It'll be alright, I promise you, It'll be alright."

The waterbender only allowed a small smile to grace her face as she stared up to her brother. Sokka knew that she wouldn't comply with his request so he took her up in his arms and carried her back to the shelter of the sanctuary getting drenched in the process.

Inside, the warrior placed his sister on one of the sofas that surround the interior of the vast space of the main chamber. His tired, ocean eyes casted down to discover that his sister had fallen asleep, so he quickly changed her into dry clothing and laid a few warm blankets over her body not wanting to move her or disturb her sleep, sleep that eluded her for the past few nights from the funeral.

The swordsman remained sitting there watching his sister sleep. Her chest lifted and fell; she looked almost normal but she was just going through the motions trying to wait out this horrible pain to eventually see the light in all this. A small smile curled at his lips, but it was bittersweet. He brushed the hair out of her face and gently kissed her forehead as the warrior rose to change out of his wet robes and adhere to his wife.

* * *

><p><em>A place of pure happiness is something not easily stumbled upon. Happiness is not perfect neither is love but it is something that cannot be simply described but easily fought for. It's only a sensation, a point of weightlessness which is the most power force in the universe. <em>

_She was in a state of pure happiness, a place just with Aang bobbing along the seams of the puffy white clouds on his glider, bodies touching. They were laughing, joking, talking with each other about life. Their smiles were ear to ear. Aang looked to be eighteen by his cleanly shaved face and well defined muscles, it was a good memory._

_It felt like that moment lasted for days on end but as that thought cleared from her mind the glider disbanded into a nothingness along with her beloved. She fell quickly, alone, into the vast unknown with no one to catch her._

_She landed in a dark room which was dimly lit by the small fires in corner. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust when she saw his lifeless body out before her. Swiftly she rose to her feet running toward the motionless airbender and positioned her hands on his chest in a healing fashion, but the instant she touched him a powerful flame encompassed his body. Out of panic, the waterbender quickly smothered the fire but it only made the flames consume his body even more. With everything she attempted the flames only grew larger and larger until they encompassed her body too. She couldn't save him, she couldn't save herself._

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><p>Her eyes jutted open but no sound came from her mouth. Sweat beads formed at her temples. A slight feeling of loneness and confusion racked her body. She was in her home, <em>their<em> home. The waterbender quickly sat up to discover that her son Tenzin was sleeping in the chair nearby, probably to keep an eye on her. Secretly she was glad that her son was there to comfort her but felt bad from taking him away from his newlywed wife. Quietly she place her bare feet on the floor and paced to the open window. Soon she would be leaving this place for the South Pole bestowing the responsibility of the Sanctuary to Tenzin under Aang's orders. Sokka wanted her to return home, he believed that it would clear her head, but she knew she was returning to the place where in all began.

**A/N: Don't worry I'll be talking about the funeral. K, Thanks All! Pls REVIEW!**


	29. Once Again

**A/N: Sorry for the ridiculously long wait... I was living in a house with no flipping wifi because the stupid cable company is so f**cking retarded. I apologize for using a strong word like retarded because the cable company is actually dumb. Anyways, this chapter is just moving the plot so bare with me. I hope you like it. Thanks so much for your patience and I hope you enjoy. PLEASE REVIEW BECAUSE YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME AND I KNOW YOU WILL PRESS THAT LITTLE BLUE BUTTON. (well I think it's blue, but I think it's actually grey)**

Chapter 29- Once Again

She sat on the boat. It was a clear night; the moon illuminated the calm waves of the sea as it rocked the water tribe boat to and fro in a soothing rhythm, her frozen hands gripped the railing tightly. She recalled a few nights ago night, her first real sleep after that fatal day. The waterbender remembered her brother's face when she awoke, his icy eyes gleaming down at her with confidence in seeing her sleep well, a goofy grin plastered across his unshaven face. She could still feel the tears as she bid farewell to her children. Kya returned to her family in the remote North, while Rinzin decided to stay with Tenzin and Pema at the Sanctuary. She sighed deeply taking in the arctic air into her lungs. She stared up at the moon remembering his motionless body lay before her on the small pyre, hands shaking.

_The crowds of people gathered at the Southern Air Temple in his honor. She knew he wouldn't have wished it but people choose to travel to see him, to honor him, to thank him. All his close friends and relatives stood close surrounding him just like they did many times before. Sokka and Suki were weeping, her children were attempting to remain strong behind her wiping their tears quietly; the Fire Lord was solemn with a distant look as he gazed down at the fallen monk. Toph remained silent holding on to the small hope of feeling his heartbeat again but it was futile. She remembered the sight of the thousands upon thousands of strangers duck their heads toward the monk, a last tribute, a last good-bye. The waterbender couldn't help but smile at the warmhearted gesture but no words of gratitude reached her mouth. She looked down at him; a small grin still seemed to crest his face, the face that she knew since she was a girl, the face she grew to love, the face she remembered kissing in the darkness, the face that she couldn't live without._

She shut her eyes forcibly trying to push back the sad memory grasping the wooden rail tauter between her fingertips. She started to feel the tears well up in her eyes; she bit down on her lip making a great effort to hold them back. She released an unstable sigh and that was the end of her fight. The tears rolled down her face as she stared idly out onto the supple waves if the sea.

"I miss you, Aang," Katara breathed through her soundless weeping, "I miss you so much."

* * *

><p><em>The tall, handsome man began walking down the dirt road with an odd poll in his hand. He claimed that he could fly with it but no one believed him. The man simply laughed at the people's ridicule not caring of their opinion but respecting them none the less. The man was happy; she could see it gleaming in the sliver of his eyes. His feet precisely lined the edge of the trail as he placed one foot before the other, his movement so graceful and calm. She could see that compassion and tolerance guided his heart. Then he beamed at her and she smiled at him wrapping her hands tightly around his neck. It was him, the monk, the last airbender, the avatar, it was him. His touch was so warm as if she hadn't realized how cold she had been. His lips were soft as he kissed her neck and sucked on the sensitive skin; a weightless washed over her as he crashed into her lips smiling, his hands shifting warmly over her trim waist. She felt his hot breathe, his smell. As fast as it had begun it had ceased. His touch fell from her body and the man stared back at her, his eyes firm. His tattooed hand gently brushed the brunette hair from her face. "You could always go on changing things but there comes a time when you have to decide to stop and live your life.<em> _Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change - this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress," he spoke clearly in a low, deep voice, his lips slightly curling out of sorrow. He grasped her willowy hand pulling it to his chest. He caressed the crown of her forehead, "Change alone is eternal, perpetual, immortal," he whispered against her temple, "but my love too is eternal, perpetual, immortal. I will always love you, Katara." He kissed her briefly but sweetly supporting her from the base of her back. His gaze averted to the ground as he slowly lowered his bare head and continued his way down the endless trail._

"Lady Katara! Lady Katara!" she heard the voice of a young warrior sound.

Her aged hands rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She hoisted herself up into an upright position; "Yes, what is it dear?" the waterbender responded from her bed, a bit of sorrow stirred from her tone but it was well hidden.

"I am terribly sorry to have woken you Lady Katara, but Chief Sokka wanted me to inform you that we have arrived at the South Pole," the warrior spoke politely, bowing respectively in her presence.

"Well that's kind of him. Thank you very much, I will be ready in a minute," she said quickly gathering her items into a bag. She placed the bag on the floor as she pulled her parka over her head, making it flush to her body.

"Allow me to help," the youth offered gesturing to her bag and picking it up

"Oh, no, no I am fine, thank you for everything," the waterbender smiled gently taking the bag from the younger man. She pulled the tired leather drawn bag over her shoulder and proceeded out the doorway following the warrior's lead.

The second she laid eyes on her home, the waterbender was met with a fierce, bone-chilling wind. Currently it was winter in the South Pole and there was a blizzard nearing. She drew the fur-covered hood over her ears, "Well I can see that the weather hasn't gotten any milder", she mused. Katara walked down the ship's ramp to where her brother was standing with his wife. The couple was conversing with some of the local guards, who were welcoming them back and wishing them a good stay.

Her brother turned to discover his sister inching closer to him, his face instantly brightened up, "Katara!" he shouted from across the dock, "Welcome back home!" he exclaimed his arms wide open. The waterbender couldn't help but laugh at her brother's goofy grin as he scooped her up in a cordial bear hug.

She smiled against his chest, "Thanks Sokka. It feels like years since I was last here."

"Yeah I know. Dad would have loved to see the village now; it's more like a small city," The swordman stated thinking of his deceased father, "We should get inside. We don't want to take a chance with this blizzard," the warrior suggested.

Katara nodded conscientiously recollecting the snowstorm during the siege of the North. It was long ago but she could remember the ice pricing her skin as she searched helplessly for her best friend. She sighed looking over to Suki, he was unharmed but still he saved the prince despite the fact that he had kidnapped him. He always saw the good in people.

Suki, Sokka and she were walking down the center of the town as crowds of people lined the streets to greet the famous heroes. The waterbender grinned out of happiness reconnecting with her old friends and addressing the little children who were awed in her presence, she was one of the saviors of the world after all.

"Katara! My old friend!" a feminine voice called after her.

She turned to find her childhood friend, "Nonie! Is that you?" She cried excitedly running to embrace her.

"I can't believe it's you, Katara!" she friend stated breathlessly, "I haven't seen you in years and I heard you were coming home. I heard what happened. I am terribly sorry about Aang though."

"It's alright," the waterbender smiled weakly, "Anyway it is wonderful to see you again."

Nonie picked up on this and rested her hand on Katara's shoulder supporting her, "Well if you aren't busy I could use some help with the nursery. There are three mothers due and quite frankly as I remember it you were the best."

"Oh you flatter me," Katara chuckled adjusting her bag on her shoulder. The work would keep her mind off of things, "Sure, I would love to help. Let me just go tell Sokka," The waterbender quickly walked over to her brother to notify him where she would be if he needed her.

It began to snow lightly and the wind picked up as she paced back to her friend. "Great! Kanna would be proud," Nonia responded joyfully leading her long-lost friend to her nursery.

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><p>Inside the nursery, the center camber was warm and inviting with a half a dozen rooms branching off the side. A large and bright fire burned in the center of the room.<p>

"Wow! Nonia you really outdid yourself!" Katara complained eagerly removing her parka due to the temperature of the space.

"Well if you are impressed with this little house that must mean something! You have been all over the world. Gosh, I am glad like it," Nonia replied taking the waterbender's bag in her hands, "I am sorry currently all the rooms are taken so we will just have to sleep in here."

"Oh, it's fine," Katara shifted nervously as she eyed her bag. The waterbender watched intently as she placed it down on a nearby sleeping pelt along with her parka.

"While I clean up will check on the mothers in the rooms two and five for me," she requested with the broom in her hands, "The mother in room two is full term and is due soon. On the other hand, the other mother already gave birth to a baby girl a couple of weeks ago. Just check if they need anything."

Katara nodded and swiftly advanced to the first room. She placed her hands on the paper screen and opened the door to realize the expecting mother was fast asleep as well as the father in the nearby chair. She smiled herself and laid her hand on the mother's protruding stomach. She could feel that the baby was strong and it wasn't long. Quietly the waterbender receded from the room sliding the door shut making her way to the other corridor.

As she stalked over the room she couldn't help but feel a wholehearted sensation rush over her body. Unlike the other woman, this mother was wide awake. She pushed the screen open to see the mother cuddling her baby.

"I apologize for disturbing you," Katara said politely dusting her apron. She strolled over to the side of the bed with an extra blanket in her hand, "It is going to be very cold tonight, dear."

"Why thank you," the mother said gratefully as her baby girl grabbed onto her fingers. The woman appeared to be exhausted, her messy hair bent around the flow of her brow tied into two low ponytails. The woman looked up from her attention on her baby, "Wait! You are Katara! Katara of the Southern water tribe! It's an honor to meet you," the mother determined favorably and her blue eyes filled with hope.

The waterbender almost forgot how well-known she was, "Well it's an honor to meet you too," she said just as agreeable, "And you are?"

The woman seemed to be in a trance just content at looking at the older warrior, "Oh!" she shook her head clearing her mind from the daze, "I am Senna! And this is Korra. She was born about a week a half ago."

The waterbender gazed down at the baby who sported a large tuff of beautiful brown hair at the top of her head. She couldn't let go the feeling of comfort and familiarity she sensed as she looked down at the baby. She couldn't explain it but she felt whole. Change is something you cannot stop but love lives on, even if a person's grey room seems inescapable.

**A/N:** **Don't worry, it gets juicy. PLEASE PRESS THAT BUTTON... YEAH I KNOW YOU SEE IT! ... YUP YOU ARE STARING RIGHT AT IT... THE ONE THAT SAYS 'REVIEW'. Thank you so much. Love you all.**

**Ps. Check out my new fan fiction, _The Hidden_**_ **Road,**_**It's a mix between Lok and ATLA. **


	30. Better Angels of our Nature

**A/N x2: I actually posted the wrong thing for Chapter 30, this actually the real one. Sorry.**

**A/N: Hey Guys! Oh my gosh it has been quite a while. Man time gets to you and runs through your fingers. I apologize for making you guys wait do long for me to update. If I still have any fans thank you for sticking with me for I don't know how long. Long story short I had major writer's block since of the series and the problem with Rinzin since he wasn't canon. Plus, my life got super duper busy with the start of school and sports and EVERYTHING. Alright, well I think I have conveyed my point albeit a bit ineffectively. Well here's chap-TA 30. Enjoy as always and please REVIEW! tanks a lot**

Chapter 30: Better Angels of our Nature

She woke up to the cracking of the fire: a log had rolled down from its place creating a loud noise. She shuddered briefly from the chill of the room flipping over from her laying position to her stomach. Panicking, she had forgotten were she was, _were was Aang?_ _Where was she?_ Adjusting her eyes she discovered the silhouette of a sleeping form beside her.

"Aang?" she whisphered, reaching out her hand to touch him but it wasn't him it was Nonie. She recoiled back into the disrupted comfort of her sleeping bag. Sweat was dripping down her back. _Why did it feel like he was here?_ As if he was touching her, holding her heart.

Slowly, Katara eased herself into a standing position walking toward the pre-stacked pile of wood in the corner. The wood was promisingly dry and was rough in contrast to the soft pads of her fingertips. As she fed the fire, the dim light grew into a bright burning flame illuminating the dark chamber. She sighed, she was thinking of Aang again. As much as she made an effort to stop herself it was ultimately impossible for he was everything to her. The waterbender recalled a day in her youth when he had returned from a six week long trip in the earth kingdom for reason she could remember. She wasn't there, wasn't able to go with him since her father fell ill. He insisted for her to stay that he would be alright. Those weeks felt like years and years. How much she wished she could talk to him, to sit in his lap and tell him her greatest fears; the fear of losing her father as she did her mother, losing her brother, losing her friends, losing him.

Then that magical day he returned. He promised on his return that he would dance with her until their feet grew sore and they did. They swayed until the sun dipped below the point of sight. Her head tucked protectively against his chest. His lips kissing her forehead. _Your father will be fine_ she recalled him saying but the silence was what made the moment because as they swayed back and forth they realized the greatness they held in each other, the miracle that they had found each other again. Her father would be smiling alright.

Her hands were trembling again and she dropped the log awkwardly off the side of the fire pit forcing it to roll in front of one of the rooms. As the waterbender stooped down to pick it up from the floor, her muscles froze and a sensation of paralysis flooded her body. Her breath hitched, he was here. She could feel it_. No, he is not!_ But her curiosity got the better of her. Swiftly out of instinct, her hand rose to the notch in the sliding door. Gently she slid the door open, the slice of the thin light form the fire reflected off the sleeping beings in the room.

Out of her better judgment, Katara took a step into the room. As she inched closer she realized it was the mother, Senna, she had met earlier in the bed. A man she did not remember there before was asleep in the corner as she assumed to be her husband. The waterbender stood there above the sleeping family trying to comprehend why she felt such a connection as if she her spirit was attached or pulled toward theirs in some way. Then the pieces fell into place.

"Maybe she is…." Katara though out loud looking at they sleeping baby, "No, no she can't be."

She shook her head dropping her glaze done to the floor, "You are going crazy katara." She rubbed her forehead and placed a wool blanket over the sleeping man in the corner and left.

* * *

><p>The next morning the waterbender went out with her brother for an early walk before the blizzard hit. Fresh air became a necessity during the coming of a major storm. The igloos could be buried for days by the the accumulation of snow depending on the severity of the storm. The sun was bright and the sky was clear but anyone could tell that a storm was brewing from the distant east. The snow crunched beneath their boats as the sibling paced around the northern rim of the city near the water.<p>

"Remember when we were kids growing up her?" Katara asked playfully attempting to lighten up a bit, to reduce the lump of sadness that welled in her chest.

"Up here?" Sokka laughed, "This chuck of ice? Oh yeah I do as a matter of fact."

"I remember that you always lost during our snowball fights."

"Oh, that's untrue Katara and you know it. I always had the best arm, plus you sorta used your waterbending even if you didn't know about it, so you cheated. That's why you won all the time," he countered smirking

"Ha! In your dreams tough guy, you couldn't win regardless," she chucked and lightly pounded her arm with her fist resembling Toph's sigh of affection. The pair were silent for a while looking out into the cold and barren sea which had given them life and hardship in different forms.

"Do you remember the day that we found him?" the waterbender suddenly asked

The warrior tilted his head down to look at her, his blue eyes filled with total concern, "Are you sure you want to be talking about this?"

"Yes, Sokka. I'm fine," she responded a bit harshly

He nodded ignoring her small lashing, "Yes, I do," the warrior grinned immensely "I remember thinking that he was with the fire nation. What an idiot I was…"

"I remember that face Aang made when his eyes opened; that goofy face with that childish gleam in his eyes… remember that face."

"Of course I do. It was always plastered across his face."

He watched his sister intently; her deep blue eyes flickered as she retraced the outline of the sea. She was thinking of something, something deep and close to her. Before he could intervene and stop her by asking she spoke.

"I remember that feeling I got when I first saw him," she started with her eyes focused on something in the distance, "It was different, a feeling of warmth and security, like everything would be alright."

"Katara…" The swordsman tried to console. This talk would only end in tears if it didn't stop now.

"Sokka," now she turned placing her hand on his forearm, "I got that feeling last night in the nursery."

He shook his head, "I think you need to rest, Katara. I know it is tough, it is for all of us."

"No, Sokka. You don't understand. I felt him he was there… in that room."

Still the warrior was unaffected by her words and declined her respectively, "You need to clear you head. I understand. You aren't in the right mind yet, alright."

She only shook her head and jumped up find her feet. She only looked at him briefly surprising him to not find tears in her eyes. As he watched his sister traverse the snow banks he remained there sitting on the edge of the snow cliff. Below sat the water. In his hearts of hearts he wished she was right about him being there but it was too early to tell. The scars were too fresh and it was most likely the conjuring of her broken heart. The warrior sighed deeply. He was exhausted from the amount of work that needed to be completed; Republic City was quickly bursting into a new age. Aang wasn't there to lead it, he only hoped that it was in the right direction. The warrior exhaled and looked for guidance from the rising sun.


End file.
